10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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290 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
291 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
294 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
295 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
296 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
297 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
298 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
299 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
300 License'' in the Emacs manual.
302 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
303 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
304 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
306 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
307 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
308 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
309 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
317 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
319 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
320 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
322 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
323 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
324 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
325 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
326 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
327 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
328 License'' in the Emacs manual.
330 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
331 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
332 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
334 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
335 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
336 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
337 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
345 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
348 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
349 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
350 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
352 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
353 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
354 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
355 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
356 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
357 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
358 License'' in the Emacs manual.
360 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
361 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
362 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
364 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
365 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
366 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
367 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
376 @top The Gnus Newsreader
380 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
381 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
382 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
385 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v0.05
396 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
397 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
399 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
400 being accused of plagiarism:
402 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
403 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
404 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
405 can even read news with it!
407 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
408 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
409 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
410 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
411 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
417 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
418 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
419 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
420 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
421 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
422 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
423 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
424 * Various:: General purpose settings.
425 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
426 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
427 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
428 * Key Index:: Key Index.
431 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
435 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
436 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
437 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
438 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
439 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
440 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
441 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
442 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
443 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
444 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
445 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
449 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
450 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
451 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
455 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
456 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
457 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
458 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
459 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
460 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
461 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
462 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
463 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
464 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
465 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
466 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
467 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
468 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
469 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
470 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
471 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
475 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
476 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
477 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
481 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
482 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
483 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
484 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
485 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
489 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
490 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
491 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
492 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
493 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
497 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
498 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
499 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
500 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
501 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
503 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
504 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
505 * Threading:: How threads are made.
506 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
507 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
508 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
509 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
510 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
511 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
512 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
513 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
514 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
515 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
516 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
517 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
518 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
519 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
520 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
521 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
522 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
523 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
524 or reselecting the current group.
525 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
526 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
527 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
528 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
530 Summary Buffer Format
532 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
533 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
534 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
535 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
539 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
540 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
542 Reply, Followup and Post
544 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
545 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
546 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
547 * Canceling and Superseding::
551 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
552 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
553 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
555 * Generic Marking Commands::
556 * Setting Process Marks::
560 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
561 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
562 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
566 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
567 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
569 Customizing Threading
571 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
572 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
573 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
574 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
578 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
579 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
580 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
581 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
582 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
583 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
587 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
588 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
589 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
593 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
594 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
595 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
596 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
597 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
598 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
599 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
600 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
601 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
602 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
604 Alternative Approaches
606 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
607 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
609 Various Summary Stuff
611 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
612 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
613 * Summary Generation Commands::
614 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
618 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
619 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
620 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
621 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
622 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
626 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
627 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
628 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
629 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
630 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
631 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
632 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
633 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
637 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
638 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
639 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
640 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
641 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
642 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
643 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
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 @sc{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.
669 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
670 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
671 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
672 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
673 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
674 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
675 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
676 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
677 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
678 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
679 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
680 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
681 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
685 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
686 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
687 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
689 Choosing a Mail Back End
691 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
692 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
693 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
694 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
695 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
696 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
701 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
702 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
703 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
704 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
705 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
706 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
710 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
711 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
712 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
716 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
717 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
718 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
719 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
720 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
724 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
728 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
729 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
730 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
734 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
735 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
739 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
740 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
741 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
742 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
743 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
744 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
745 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
746 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
747 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
748 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
752 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
753 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
754 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
758 * Group Agent Commands::
759 * Summary Agent Commands::
760 * Server Agent Commands::
764 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
765 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
766 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
767 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
768 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
769 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
770 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
771 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
772 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
773 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
774 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
775 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
776 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
777 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
778 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
779 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
780 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
784 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
785 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
786 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
787 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
791 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
792 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
793 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
797 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
798 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
799 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
800 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
801 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
802 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
803 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
804 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
805 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
806 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
807 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
808 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
809 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
810 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
811 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
812 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
813 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
814 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
815 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
819 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
820 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
821 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
822 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
823 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
824 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
825 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
826 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
830 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
831 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
832 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
833 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
834 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
838 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
839 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
840 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
841 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
842 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
846 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
847 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
848 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
849 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
850 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
851 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
852 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
853 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
854 * Frequently Asked Questions::
858 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
859 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
860 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
861 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
862 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
863 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
864 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
865 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
866 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
870 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
871 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
872 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
873 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
874 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
878 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
879 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
880 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
881 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
885 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
886 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
887 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
888 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
889 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
890 * Group Info:: The group info format.
891 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
892 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
893 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
897 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
898 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
899 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
900 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
901 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
902 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
906 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
907 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
911 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
912 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
918 @chapter Starting Gnus
923 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
924 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
927 @findex gnus-other-frame
928 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
929 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
930 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
932 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
933 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
934 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
936 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
937 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
940 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
941 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
942 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
943 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
944 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
945 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
946 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
947 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
948 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
949 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
950 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
954 @node Finding the News
955 @section Finding the News
958 @vindex gnus-select-method
960 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
961 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
962 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
963 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
966 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
967 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
970 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
973 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
976 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
979 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
980 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
981 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
983 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
985 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
986 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
987 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
988 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
989 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
990 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
992 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
993 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
994 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
995 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
997 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
998 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
999 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1000 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1001 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1002 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1003 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1004 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1005 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1008 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1010 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1011 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1012 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1013 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1014 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1015 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1017 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1019 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1020 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1021 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1022 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1023 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1024 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1027 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1028 you would typically set this variable to
1031 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1035 @node The First Time
1036 @section The First Time
1037 @cindex first time usage
1039 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1040 be subscribed by default.
1042 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1043 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1044 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1045 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1048 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1049 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1050 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1052 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1053 help you with most common problems.
1055 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1056 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1060 @node The Server is Down
1061 @section The Server is Down
1062 @cindex server errors
1064 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1065 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1066 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1068 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1069 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1070 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1071 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1072 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1073 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1074 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1076 @findex gnus-no-server
1077 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1079 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1080 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1081 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1082 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1083 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1084 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1085 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1089 @section Slave Gnusae
1092 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1093 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1094 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1095 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1097 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1098 @code{.newsrc} file.
1100 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1101 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1102 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1103 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1104 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1105 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1106 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1108 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1109 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1110 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1111 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1112 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1113 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1114 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1115 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1117 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1118 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1121 @node Fetching a Group
1122 @section Fetching a Group
1123 @cindex fetching a group
1125 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1126 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1127 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1128 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1129 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1130 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1136 @cindex subscription
1138 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1139 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1140 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1141 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1142 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1143 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1144 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1145 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1146 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1149 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1150 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1151 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1155 @node Checking New Groups
1156 @subsection Checking New Groups
1158 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1159 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1160 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1161 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1162 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1163 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1164 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1165 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1166 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1167 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1169 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1170 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1171 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1172 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1173 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1174 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1175 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1176 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1177 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1178 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1179 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1181 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1182 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1183 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1184 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1185 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1186 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1189 @node Subscription Methods
1190 @subsection Subscription Methods
1192 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1193 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1194 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1196 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1197 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1199 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1203 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1204 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1205 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1206 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1207 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1209 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1210 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1211 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1212 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1214 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1215 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1216 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1218 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1219 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1220 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1221 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1222 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1223 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1224 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1225 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1226 up. Or something like that.
1228 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1229 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1230 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1231 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1232 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1234 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1235 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1236 Kill all new groups.
1238 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1239 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1240 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1241 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1242 topic parameter that looks like
1248 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1251 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1256 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1257 A closely related variable is
1258 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1259 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1260 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1261 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1264 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1265 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1266 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1267 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1270 @node Filtering New Groups
1271 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1273 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1274 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1275 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1278 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1281 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1282 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1283 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1284 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1285 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1286 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1287 subscribing these groups.
1288 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1289 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1291 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1292 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1293 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1294 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1295 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1296 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1297 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1298 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1300 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1301 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1302 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1303 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1304 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1305 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1306 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1307 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1308 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1309 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1311 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1312 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1315 @node Changing Servers
1316 @section Changing Servers
1317 @cindex changing servers
1319 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1320 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1321 very flaky and you want to use another.
1323 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1324 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1328 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1329 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1330 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1331 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1334 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1335 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1336 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1337 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1339 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1340 @findex gnus-change-server
1341 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1342 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1343 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1344 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1345 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1347 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1348 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1349 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1350 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1351 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1353 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1354 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1355 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1356 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1357 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1358 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1360 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1361 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1362 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1363 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1365 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1366 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1367 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1368 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1369 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1370 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1371 cache for all groups).
1375 @section Startup Files
1376 @cindex startup files
1381 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1382 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1384 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1385 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1386 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1387 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1388 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1389 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1390 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1392 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1393 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1394 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1395 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1396 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1397 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1399 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1400 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1401 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1402 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1403 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1404 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1405 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1406 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1407 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1408 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1410 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1411 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1412 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1413 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1414 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1415 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1416 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1417 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1418 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1419 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1420 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1421 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1423 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1424 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1425 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1426 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1428 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1429 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1430 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1431 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1432 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1433 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1434 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1435 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1436 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1437 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1440 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1441 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1443 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1444 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1447 @vindex gnus-init-file
1448 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1449 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1450 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1451 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1452 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1453 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1454 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1455 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1456 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1462 @cindex dribble file
1465 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1466 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1467 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1468 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1469 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1472 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1473 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1476 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1477 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1478 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1480 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1481 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1482 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1483 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1484 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1485 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1487 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1488 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1489 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1492 @node The Active File
1493 @section The Active File
1495 @cindex ignored groups
1497 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1498 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1499 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1501 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1502 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1503 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1504 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1505 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1506 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1507 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1510 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1511 @c if you set it to anything else.
1513 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1515 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1516 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1517 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1519 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1520 you actually subscribe to.
1522 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1523 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1524 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1525 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1527 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1528 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1529 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1530 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1531 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1532 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1534 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1535 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1536 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1539 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1540 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1541 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1542 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1543 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1544 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1546 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1547 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1549 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1550 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1552 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1553 secondary select methods.
1556 @node Startup Variables
1557 @section Startup Variables
1561 @item gnus-load-hook
1562 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1563 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1564 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1565 times you start Gnus.
1567 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1568 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1569 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1571 @item gnus-startup-hook
1572 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1573 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1575 @item gnus-started-hook
1576 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1577 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1580 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1581 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1582 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1583 generating the group buffer.
1585 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1586 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1587 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1588 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1589 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1590 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1591 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1592 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1594 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1595 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1596 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1597 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1598 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1599 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1601 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1602 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1603 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1605 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1606 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1607 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1609 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1610 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1611 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1612 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1618 @chapter Group Buffer
1619 @cindex group buffer
1621 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1623 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1624 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1625 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1626 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1627 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1628 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1629 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1630 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1631 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1632 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1633 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1634 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1635 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1636 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1637 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1638 @c human rights at 9...
1641 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1642 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1643 long as Gnus is active.
1647 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1648 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1649 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1650 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1651 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1652 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1653 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1654 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1660 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1661 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1662 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1663 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1664 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1665 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1666 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1667 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1668 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1669 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1670 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1671 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1672 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1673 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1674 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1675 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1676 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1680 @node Group Buffer Format
1681 @section Group Buffer Format
1684 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1685 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1686 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1690 @node Group Line Specification
1691 @subsection Group Line Specification
1692 @cindex group buffer format
1694 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1695 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1697 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1700 25: news.announce.newusers
1701 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1706 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1707 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1708 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1709 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1711 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1712 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1713 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1714 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1715 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1716 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1718 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1720 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1721 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1722 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1723 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1724 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1726 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1727 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1728 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1730 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1735 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1738 Whether the group is subscribed.
1741 Level of subscribedness.
1744 Number of unread articles.
1747 Number of dormant articles.
1750 Number of ticked articles.
1753 Number of read articles.
1756 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1757 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1759 Gnus uses this estimation because the NNTP protocol provides efficient
1760 access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting the true
1761 unread message count is not possible efficiently. For hysterical
1762 raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of unread
1763 messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1764 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the
1765 back end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1766 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1769 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1772 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1781 Newsgroup description.
1784 @samp{m} if moderated.
1787 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1796 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1800 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1803 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1804 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1805 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1806 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1807 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1810 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1812 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1816 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1819 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1823 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1824 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1825 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1826 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1827 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1828 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1833 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1834 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1835 group, or a bogus native group.
1838 @node Group Modeline Specification
1839 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1840 @cindex group modeline
1842 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1843 The mode line can be changed by setting
1844 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1845 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1849 The native news server.
1851 The native select method.
1855 @node Group Highlighting
1856 @subsection Group Highlighting
1857 @cindex highlighting
1858 @cindex group highlighting
1860 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1861 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1862 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1863 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1864 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1866 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1870 (cond (window-system
1871 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1872 (defface my-group-face-1
1873 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1874 (defface my-group-face-2
1875 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1876 (defface my-group-face-3
1877 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1878 (defface my-group-face-4
1879 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1880 (defface my-group-face-5
1881 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1883 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1884 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1885 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1886 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1887 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1888 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1891 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1893 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1900 The number of unread articles in the group.
1904 Whether the group is a mail group.
1906 The level of the group.
1908 The score of the group.
1910 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1912 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1913 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1915 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1916 topic being inserted.
1919 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1920 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1921 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1923 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1924 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1925 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1926 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1927 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1930 @node Group Maneuvering
1931 @section Group Maneuvering
1932 @cindex group movement
1934 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1935 expected, hopefully.
1941 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1942 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1943 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1949 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1950 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1951 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1955 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1956 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1960 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1961 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1965 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1966 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1967 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1971 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1972 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1973 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1976 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1982 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1983 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1984 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1989 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1990 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1991 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1995 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1996 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1997 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2000 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2001 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2002 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2003 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2007 @node Selecting a Group
2008 @section Selecting a Group
2009 @cindex group selection
2014 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2015 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2016 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2017 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2018 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2019 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2020 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2021 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2022 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2023 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2025 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2026 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2027 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2029 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2030 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2035 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2036 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2037 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2038 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2039 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2043 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2044 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2045 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2046 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2047 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2048 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2049 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2050 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2051 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2052 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2055 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2056 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2057 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2058 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2059 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2062 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2063 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2064 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2065 doing any processing of its contents
2066 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2067 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2068 manner will have no permanent effects.
2072 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2073 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2074 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2075 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2076 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2077 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2078 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2079 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2082 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2083 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2084 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2085 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2086 Which article this is is controlled by the
2087 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2093 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2096 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2099 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2102 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2106 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2107 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2109 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2110 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2111 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2112 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2116 @node Subscription Commands
2117 @section Subscription Commands
2118 @cindex subscription
2126 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2127 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2128 Toggle subscription to the current group
2129 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2135 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2136 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2137 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2138 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2144 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2145 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2146 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2152 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2153 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2156 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2157 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2158 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2159 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2160 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2166 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2167 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2171 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2172 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2175 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2176 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2177 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2178 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2179 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2180 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2181 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2182 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2183 @file{.newsrc} file.
2187 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2197 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2198 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2199 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2200 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2201 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2202 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2207 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2208 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2209 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2213 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2214 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2215 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2217 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2218 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2219 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2220 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2221 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2222 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2229 @section Group Levels
2233 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2234 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2235 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2236 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2237 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2239 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2245 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2246 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2247 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2248 prompted for a level.
2251 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2252 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2253 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2254 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2255 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2256 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2257 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2258 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2259 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2260 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2261 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2262 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2263 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2264 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2265 reasons of efficiency.
2267 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2268 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2270 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2271 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2272 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2273 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2274 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2275 groups are hidden, in a way.
2277 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2278 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2279 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2280 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2281 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2282 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2284 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2285 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2286 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2287 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2288 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2289 list of killed groups.)
2291 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2292 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2293 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2295 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2296 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2297 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2298 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2299 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2300 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2301 relevant valid ranges.
2303 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2304 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2305 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2306 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2307 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2308 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2311 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2312 one with the best level.
2314 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2315 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2316 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2319 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2320 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2321 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2322 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2325 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2326 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2327 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2328 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2330 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2331 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2332 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2333 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2334 to 5. The default is 6.
2338 @section Group Score
2343 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2344 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2345 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2348 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2349 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2350 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2351 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2352 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2353 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2354 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2355 least significant part.))
2357 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2358 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2359 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2360 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2361 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2362 action after each summary exit, you can add
2363 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2364 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2365 slow things down somewhat.
2368 @node Marking Groups
2369 @section Marking Groups
2370 @cindex marking groups
2372 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2373 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2374 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2375 bidding on those groups.
2377 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2378 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2379 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2387 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2388 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2394 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2395 Remove the mark from the current group
2396 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2400 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2401 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2405 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2406 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2410 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2411 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2415 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2416 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2417 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2420 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2422 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2423 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2424 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2425 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2426 the command to be executed.
2429 @node Foreign Groups
2430 @section Foreign Groups
2431 @cindex foreign groups
2433 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2434 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2435 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2436 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2443 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2444 @cindex making groups
2445 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2446 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2447 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2451 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2452 @cindex renaming groups
2453 Rename the current group to something else
2454 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2455 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2461 @findex gnus-group-customize
2462 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2466 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2467 @cindex renaming groups
2468 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2469 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2473 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2474 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2475 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2479 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2480 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2481 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2485 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2487 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2488 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2493 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2494 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2498 @cindex (ding) archive
2499 @cindex archive group
2500 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2501 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2502 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2503 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2504 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2505 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2506 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2510 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2512 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2513 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2514 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2515 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2519 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2521 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2522 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2523 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2527 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2528 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2530 Make a group based on some file or other
2531 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2532 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2533 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2534 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2535 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2536 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2537 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2538 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2539 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2543 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2544 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2545 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2546 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2550 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2555 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2556 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2557 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2558 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2559 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2560 @xref{Web Searches}.
2562 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2563 to a particular group by using a match string like
2564 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2567 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2568 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2569 This function will delete the current group
2570 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2571 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2572 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2573 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2574 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2578 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2579 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2580 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2584 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2585 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2586 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2589 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2592 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2593 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2594 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2595 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2596 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2597 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2601 @node Group Parameters
2602 @section Group Parameters
2603 @cindex group parameters
2605 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2606 Here's an example group parameter list:
2609 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2613 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2614 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2615 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2616 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2618 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2619 is an alist of regexps and values.
2621 The following group parameters can be used:
2626 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2629 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2632 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2633 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2634 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2635 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2636 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2638 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2639 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2640 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2641 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2642 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2643 list address instead.
2645 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2649 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2652 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2655 It is totally ignored
2656 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2657 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2659 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2660 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2661 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2662 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2663 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2665 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2666 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2667 sending the message.
2669 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2670 @cindex Mail List Groups
2671 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2672 entering summary buffer.
2674 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2678 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2679 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2680 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information
2681 will help it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To headers for your
2682 posts to these lists.
2684 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2685 directly uses this group parameter.
2689 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2690 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2691 of whether it has any unread articles.
2693 @item broken-reply-to
2694 @cindex broken-reply-to
2695 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2696 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2697 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2698 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2699 broken behavior. So there!
2703 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2704 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2708 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2709 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2710 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2715 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2716 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2717 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2718 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2719 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2720 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2721 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2725 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2726 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2727 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2729 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2732 @cindex total-expire
2733 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2734 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2735 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2736 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2739 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2743 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2744 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2745 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2746 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2747 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2748 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2751 @cindex score file group parameter
2752 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2753 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2754 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2757 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2758 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2759 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2760 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2763 @cindex admin-address
2764 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2765 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2766 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2767 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2771 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2772 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2776 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2779 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2780 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2783 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2787 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2789 Here are some examples:
2793 Display only read articles.
2796 Display everything except expirable articles.
2798 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2799 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2803 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2804 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2805 @code{read}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2806 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2807 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{seen} and @code{recent}.
2811 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2812 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2813 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2817 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2818 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2819 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2824 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2825 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2826 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2828 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2830 @item ignored-charsets
2831 @cindex ignored-charset
2832 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2833 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2834 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2836 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2839 @cindex posting-style
2840 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2841 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2842 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2843 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2844 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2846 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2847 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2848 like this in the group parameters:
2853 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2858 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2859 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2863 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2864 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2865 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2866 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2867 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2871 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2872 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2873 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2874 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2876 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2877 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2878 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2879 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2882 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2883 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2887 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2890 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2891 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2892 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2893 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2894 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2895 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2896 @code{eval}ed there.
2898 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2899 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2900 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2901 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2902 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2906 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2907 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2908 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2909 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2910 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2912 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2913 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2917 (setq gnus-parameters
2919 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2920 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2921 (gnus-summary-line-format
2922 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2926 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2930 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2934 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2937 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2938 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2941 @node Listing Groups
2942 @section Listing Groups
2943 @cindex group listing
2945 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2953 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2954 List all groups that have unread articles
2955 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2956 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2957 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2958 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2965 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2966 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2967 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2968 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2969 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2970 unsubscribed groups).
2974 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2975 List all unread groups on a specific level
2976 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2977 with no unread articles.
2981 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2982 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2983 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2984 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2989 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2990 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2994 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2995 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2996 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3000 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3001 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3005 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3006 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3007 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3008 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3009 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3010 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3011 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3012 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3016 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3017 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3018 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3022 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3023 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3024 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3028 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3029 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3033 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3034 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3038 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3039 List groups limited within the current selection
3040 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3044 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3045 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3049 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3050 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3054 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3055 @cindex visible group parameter
3056 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3057 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3058 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3059 get the same effect.
3061 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3062 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3063 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3064 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3065 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3068 @node Sorting Groups
3069 @section Sorting Groups
3070 @cindex sorting groups
3072 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3073 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3074 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3075 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3076 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3077 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3082 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3083 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3084 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3086 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3087 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3088 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3090 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3091 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3092 Sort by group level.
3094 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3095 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3096 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3098 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3099 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3100 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3101 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3103 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3104 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3105 Sort by number of unread articles.
3107 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3108 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3109 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3111 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3112 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3113 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3118 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3119 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3123 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3124 some sorting criteria:
3128 @kindex G S a (Group)
3129 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3130 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3131 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3134 @kindex G S u (Group)
3135 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3136 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3137 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3140 @kindex G S l (Group)
3141 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3142 Sort the group buffer by group level
3143 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3146 @kindex G S v (Group)
3147 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3148 Sort the group buffer by group score
3149 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3152 @kindex G S r (Group)
3153 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3154 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3155 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3158 @kindex G S m (Group)
3159 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3160 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3161 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3165 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3166 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3168 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3169 commands will sort in reverse order.
3171 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3175 @kindex G P a (Group)
3176 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3177 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3178 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3181 @kindex G P u (Group)
3182 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3183 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3184 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3187 @kindex G P l (Group)
3188 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3189 Sort the groups by group level
3190 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3193 @kindex G P v (Group)
3194 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3195 Sort the groups by group score
3196 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3199 @kindex G P r (Group)
3200 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3201 Sort the groups by group rank
3202 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3205 @kindex G P m (Group)
3206 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3207 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3208 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3212 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3216 @node Group Maintenance
3217 @section Group Maintenance
3218 @cindex bogus groups
3223 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3224 Find bogus groups and delete them
3225 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3229 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3230 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3231 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3232 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3233 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3237 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3238 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3239 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3240 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3241 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3242 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3245 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3246 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3247 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3248 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3253 @node Browse Foreign Server
3254 @section Browse Foreign Server
3255 @cindex foreign servers
3256 @cindex browsing servers
3261 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3262 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3263 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3264 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3267 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3268 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3269 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3270 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3272 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3277 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3278 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3282 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3283 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3286 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3287 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3288 Enter the current group and display the first article
3289 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3292 @kindex RET (Browse)
3293 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3294 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3298 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3299 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3300 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3306 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3307 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3311 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3312 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3313 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3318 @section Exiting Gnus
3319 @cindex exiting Gnus
3321 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3326 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3327 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3328 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3329 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3333 @findex gnus-group-exit
3334 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3335 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3339 @findex gnus-group-quit
3340 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3341 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3344 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3345 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3346 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3347 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3348 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3353 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3354 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3355 trying to customize meta-variables.
3360 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3361 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3362 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3368 @section Group Topics
3371 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3372 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3373 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3374 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3375 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3376 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3380 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3381 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3392 2: alt.religion.emacs
3395 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3397 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3398 13: comp.sources.unix
3401 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3403 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3404 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3405 is a toggling command.)
3407 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3408 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3409 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3410 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3413 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3414 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3415 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3418 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3422 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3423 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3424 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3425 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3426 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3430 @node Topic Commands
3431 @subsection Topic Commands
3432 @cindex topic commands
3434 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3435 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3436 definitions slightly.
3438 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3439 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3440 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3441 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3442 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3443 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3445 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3452 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3453 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3454 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3458 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3460 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3461 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3462 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3463 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3466 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3467 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3468 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3469 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3473 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3474 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3475 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3476 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3482 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3483 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3484 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3488 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3489 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3490 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3493 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3494 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3495 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3496 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3497 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3499 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3500 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3504 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3505 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3512 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3514 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3515 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3516 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3517 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3518 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3519 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3523 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3529 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3530 Move the current group to some other topic
3531 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3532 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3536 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3537 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3541 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3542 Copy the current group to some other topic
3543 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3544 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3548 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3549 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3550 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3554 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3555 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3556 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3560 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3561 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3562 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3563 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3564 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3565 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3566 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3569 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3570 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3574 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3575 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3576 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3580 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3581 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3582 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3586 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3587 Toggle hiding empty topics
3588 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3592 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3593 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3594 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3597 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3598 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3599 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3600 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3603 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3604 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3605 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3606 expiry process (if any)
3607 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3611 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3612 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3615 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3616 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3617 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3621 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3622 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3623 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3626 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3627 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3628 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3631 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3632 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3633 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3637 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3638 @cindex group parameters
3639 @cindex topic parameters
3641 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3642 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3647 @node Topic Variables
3648 @subsection Topic Variables
3649 @cindex topic variables
3651 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3652 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3654 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3655 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3656 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3669 Number of groups in the topic.
3671 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3673 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3676 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3677 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3678 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3681 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3682 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3684 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3685 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3686 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3690 @subsection Topic Sorting
3691 @cindex topic sorting
3693 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3699 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3700 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3701 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3702 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3705 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3706 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3707 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3708 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3711 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3712 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3713 Sort the current topic by group level
3714 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3717 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3718 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3719 Sort the current topic by group score
3720 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3723 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3724 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3725 Sort the current topic by group rank
3726 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3729 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3730 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3731 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3732 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3735 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3736 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3737 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3738 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3742 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3745 @node Topic Topology
3746 @subsection Topic Topology
3747 @cindex topic topology
3750 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3756 2: alt.religion.emacs
3759 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3761 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3762 13: comp.sources.unix
3765 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3766 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3767 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3772 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3773 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3777 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3778 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3779 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3780 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3781 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3782 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3784 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3785 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3786 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3789 @node Topic Parameters
3790 @subsection Topic Parameters
3791 @cindex topic parameters
3793 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3794 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3795 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3797 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3802 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3803 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3804 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3807 @item subscribe-level
3808 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3809 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3810 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3814 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3815 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3816 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3817 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3823 2: alt.religion.emacs
3827 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3829 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3830 13: comp.sources.unix
3834 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3835 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3836 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3837 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3838 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3839 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3841 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3842 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3843 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3844 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3845 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3847 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3848 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3849 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3850 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3851 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3852 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3853 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3854 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3857 @node Misc Group Stuff
3858 @section Misc Group Stuff
3861 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3862 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3863 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3864 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3865 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3872 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3873 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3874 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3878 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3879 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3880 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3881 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3882 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3883 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3884 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3888 @findex gnus-group-mail
3889 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3890 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3891 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3892 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3896 @findex gnus-group-news
3897 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3898 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3899 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3901 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3902 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3903 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3904 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3905 for this to work though.
3909 Variables for the group buffer:
3913 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3914 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3915 is called after the group buffer has been
3918 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3919 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3920 is called after the group buffer is
3921 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3924 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3925 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3926 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3927 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3929 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3930 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3931 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3932 whether they are empty or not.
3934 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3935 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3936 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3937 non-ASCII group names.
3941 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3942 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3945 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3946 @cindex UTF-8 group names
3947 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3948 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
3949 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
3950 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
3954 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3955 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3960 @node Scanning New Messages
3961 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3962 @cindex new messages
3963 @cindex scanning new news
3969 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3970 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3971 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3972 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3973 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3974 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3979 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3980 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3981 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3982 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3983 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3984 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3985 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3987 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3988 @cindex activating groups
3990 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3991 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3996 @findex gnus-group-restart
3997 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3998 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3999 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4003 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4004 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4006 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4007 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4011 @node Group Information
4012 @subsection Group Information
4013 @cindex group information
4014 @cindex information on groups
4021 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4022 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4025 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4026 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4027 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4028 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4029 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4030 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4031 for fetching the file.
4033 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4034 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4038 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4040 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4041 @cindex describing groups
4042 @cindex group description
4043 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4044 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4045 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4049 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4050 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4051 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4058 @findex gnus-version
4059 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4063 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4064 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4067 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4070 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4071 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4075 @node Group Timestamp
4076 @subsection Group Timestamp
4078 @cindex group timestamps
4080 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4081 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4082 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4085 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4088 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4090 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4091 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4094 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4095 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4098 This will result in lines looking like:
4101 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4102 0: custom 19961002T012713
4105 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4106 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4110 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4111 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4114 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4115 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4119 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4120 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %Ud\n")
4121 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4122 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4123 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)))
4128 @subsection File Commands
4129 @cindex file commands
4135 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4136 @vindex gnus-init-file
4137 @cindex reading init file
4138 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4139 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4143 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4144 @cindex saving .newsrc
4145 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4146 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4147 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4150 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4151 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4152 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4157 @node Sieve Commands
4158 @subsection Sieve Commands
4159 @cindex group sieve commands
4161 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4162 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4163 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4164 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4165 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4167 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4168 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4169 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4170 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4171 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4172 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4173 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4174 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4175 regenerate the Sieve script.
4177 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4178 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4179 is generated. If it is non-nil (the default) articles is placed in
4180 all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article is only
4181 placed in the group with the first matching rule. For example, the
4182 group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4183 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4184 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is nil. (When
4185 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-nil, it looks the same except that
4186 the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4189 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4190 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4195 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4201 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4202 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4203 @cindex generating sieve script
4204 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4205 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4209 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4210 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4211 @cindex updating sieve script
4212 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4213 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4214 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4219 @node Summary Buffer
4220 @chapter Summary Buffer
4221 @cindex summary buffer
4223 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4224 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4226 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4227 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4229 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4232 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4233 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4234 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4235 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4236 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4237 * Delayed Articles::
4238 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4239 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4240 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4241 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4242 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4243 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4244 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4245 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4246 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4247 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4248 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4249 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4250 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4251 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4252 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4253 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4254 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4255 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4256 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4257 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4258 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4259 or reselecting the current group.
4260 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4261 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4262 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4263 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4267 @node Summary Buffer Format
4268 @section Summary Buffer Format
4269 @cindex summary buffer format
4273 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4274 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4275 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4281 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4282 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4283 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4284 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4287 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4288 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4289 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4290 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4291 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4292 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4293 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4294 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4295 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4296 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4297 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4300 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4301 'mail-extract-address-components)
4304 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4305 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4306 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4307 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4310 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4311 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4313 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4314 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4315 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4316 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4317 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4319 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4320 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4321 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4322 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4323 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4324 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4326 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%) %s\n}.
4328 The following format specification characters and extended format
4329 specification(s) are understood:
4335 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4336 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4338 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4339 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4340 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4342 Full @code{From} header.
4344 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4346 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
4347 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
4349 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4350 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4351 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4352 may be more thorough.
4354 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4357 Number of lines in the article.
4359 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4360 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4362 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4364 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4367 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4368 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4370 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4371 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4373 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4374 for adopted articles.
4376 One space for each thread level.
4378 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4380 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4383 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4384 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4385 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4388 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4390 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4391 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4392 default level. If the difference between
4393 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4394 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4402 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4404 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4410 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4411 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4413 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4414 article has any children.
4420 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4421 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4423 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4424 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4425 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4426 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4427 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4428 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4431 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4432 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4433 There can only be one such area.
4435 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4436 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4437 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4438 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4439 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4440 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4442 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4443 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4445 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4448 @node To From Newsgroups
4449 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4453 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4454 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4455 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4456 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4457 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4461 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4462 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4463 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4467 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4468 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4471 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4472 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4475 @findex gnus-extra-header
4476 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4477 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4478 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4481 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4485 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4486 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4487 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4488 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4489 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4490 headers are used instead.
4494 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4495 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4496 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4497 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4500 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4501 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4502 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4503 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4505 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4509 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4511 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4512 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4513 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4514 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4518 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4521 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4522 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4529 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4530 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4533 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4534 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4536 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4537 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4538 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4539 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4541 Here are the elements you can play with:
4547 Unprefixed group name.
4549 Current article number.
4551 Current article score.
4555 Number of unread articles in this group.
4557 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4560 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4561 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4562 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4563 and no unselected ones.
4565 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4566 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4568 Subject of the current article.
4570 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4572 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4574 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4576 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4578 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4580 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4584 @node Summary Highlighting
4585 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4589 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4590 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4591 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4592 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4593 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4595 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4596 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4597 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4598 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4600 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4601 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4602 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4603 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4605 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4606 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4607 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4608 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4609 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4610 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4613 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4614 ((> score default) . bold))
4616 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4617 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4621 @node Summary Maneuvering
4622 @section Summary Maneuvering
4623 @cindex summary movement
4625 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4626 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4628 None of these commands select articles.
4633 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4634 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4635 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4636 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4637 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4641 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4642 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4643 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4644 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4645 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4648 @kindex G g (Summary)
4649 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4650 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4651 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4654 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4655 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4656 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4657 to the group buffer.
4659 Variables related to summary movement:
4663 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4664 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4665 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4666 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4667 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4668 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4669 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4670 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4671 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4672 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4673 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4674 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4675 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4676 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4678 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4679 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4680 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4681 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4682 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4683 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4684 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4686 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4688 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4689 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4690 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4691 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4692 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4694 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4695 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4696 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4697 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4698 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4699 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4700 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4701 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4704 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4705 the given number of lines from the top.
4710 @node Choosing Articles
4711 @section Choosing Articles
4712 @cindex selecting articles
4715 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4716 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4720 @node Choosing Commands
4721 @subsection Choosing Commands
4723 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4724 and they all select and display an article.
4726 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4727 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4731 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4732 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4733 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4734 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4739 @kindex G n (Summary)
4740 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4741 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4742 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4747 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4748 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4749 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4754 @kindex G N (Summary)
4755 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4756 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4761 @kindex G P (Summary)
4762 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4763 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4766 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4767 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4768 Go to the next article with the same subject
4769 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4772 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4773 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4774 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4775 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4779 @kindex G f (Summary)
4781 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4782 Go to the first unread article
4783 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4787 @kindex G b (Summary)
4789 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4790 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4791 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4792 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4797 @kindex G l (Summary)
4798 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4799 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4802 @kindex G o (Summary)
4803 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4805 @cindex article history
4806 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4807 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4808 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4809 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4810 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4811 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4816 @kindex G j (Summary)
4817 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4818 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4819 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4824 @node Choosing Variables
4825 @subsection Choosing Variables
4827 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4830 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4831 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4832 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4833 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4834 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4835 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4837 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4838 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4839 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4840 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4842 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4843 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4844 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4845 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4846 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4847 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4848 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4849 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4850 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4851 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4852 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4853 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4854 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4855 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4860 @node Paging the Article
4861 @section Scrolling the Article
4862 @cindex article scrolling
4867 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4868 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4869 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4870 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4871 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4874 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4875 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4876 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4879 @kindex RET (Summary)
4880 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4881 Scroll the current article one line forward
4882 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4885 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4886 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4887 Scroll the current article one line backward
4888 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4892 @kindex A g (Summary)
4894 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4895 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4896 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4897 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4898 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4899 the way it came from the server.
4901 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4902 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4903 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4906 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4911 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4916 @kindex A < (Summary)
4917 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4918 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4919 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4924 @kindex A > (Summary)
4925 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4926 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4930 @kindex A s (Summary)
4932 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4933 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4934 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4938 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4939 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4944 @node Reply Followup and Post
4945 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4948 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4949 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4950 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4951 * Canceling and Superseding::
4955 @node Summary Mail Commands
4956 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4958 @cindex composing mail
4960 Commands for composing a mail message:
4966 @kindex S r (Summary)
4968 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4969 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4970 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4971 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4972 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4977 @kindex S R (Summary)
4978 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4979 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4980 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4981 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4982 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4985 @kindex S w (Summary)
4986 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4987 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4988 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4989 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4990 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4993 @kindex S V (Summary)
4994 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4995 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4996 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4997 the process/prefix convention.
5000 @kindex S v (Summary)
5001 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5002 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5003 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5004 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5005 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5006 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5010 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5011 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5012 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5013 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5014 Forward the current article to some other person
5015 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5016 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5017 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5018 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5019 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5020 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5021 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5022 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5023 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
5028 @kindex S m (Summary)
5029 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5030 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5031 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5032 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5033 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5038 @kindex S i (Summary)
5039 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5040 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5041 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5042 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5044 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5045 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5046 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5047 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5048 for this to work though.
5051 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5052 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5053 @cindex bouncing mail
5054 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5055 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5056 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5057 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5058 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5059 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5060 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5061 very well fail, though.
5064 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5065 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5066 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5067 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5068 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5069 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5070 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5071 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5072 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5073 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5075 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5076 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5077 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5078 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5079 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
5081 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5082 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5085 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5086 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5087 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5088 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5089 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5092 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5093 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5094 @cindex crossposting
5095 @cindex excessive crossposting
5096 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5097 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5099 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5100 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5101 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5102 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5103 command understands the process/prefix convention
5104 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5108 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5109 Manual}, for more information.
5112 @node Summary Post Commands
5113 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5115 @cindex composing news
5117 Commands for posting a news article:
5123 @kindex S p (Summary)
5124 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5125 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5126 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5127 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5128 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5133 @kindex S f (Summary)
5134 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5135 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5136 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5140 @kindex S F (Summary)
5142 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5143 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5144 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5145 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5146 process/prefix convention.
5149 @kindex S n (Summary)
5150 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5151 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5152 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5155 @kindex S N (Summary)
5156 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5157 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5158 message through mail and include the original message
5159 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5160 the process/prefix convention.
5163 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5164 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5165 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5166 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5167 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5168 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5169 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5170 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5171 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5172 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5173 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5174 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5175 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
5178 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5179 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5181 @cindex making digests
5182 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5183 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5184 process/prefix convention.
5187 @kindex S u (Summary)
5188 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5189 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5190 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5191 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5194 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5195 Manual}, for more information.
5198 @node Summary Message Commands
5199 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5203 @kindex S y (Summary)
5204 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5205 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5206 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5207 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5208 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5213 @node Canceling and Superseding
5214 @subsection Canceling Articles
5215 @cindex canceling articles
5216 @cindex superseding articles
5218 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5219 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5221 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5223 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5225 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5226 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5227 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5228 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5229 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5230 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5232 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5233 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5236 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5237 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5238 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5240 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5241 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5242 your original article.
5244 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5246 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5247 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5248 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5251 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5252 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5253 have posted almost the same article twice.
5255 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5256 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5257 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5258 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5259 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5260 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5261 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5262 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5263 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5264 canceled/superseded.
5266 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5268 @node Delayed Articles
5269 @section Delayed Articles
5270 @cindex delayed sending
5271 @cindex send delayed
5273 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5274 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5275 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5276 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5279 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5282 @findex gnus-delay-article
5283 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5284 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5285 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5286 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5290 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5291 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5292 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5293 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5296 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5297 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5298 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5301 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5302 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5303 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5304 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5305 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5306 that means a time tomorrow.
5309 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5310 couple of variables:
5313 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5314 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5315 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5316 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5318 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5319 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5320 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5321 formats described above.
5323 @item gnus-delay-group
5324 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5325 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5326 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5327 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5329 @item gnus-delay-header
5330 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5331 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5332 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5333 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5336 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5337 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5338 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5339 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5340 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5342 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5343 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5344 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5345 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5346 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5347 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5350 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5351 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5352 By default, this function installs the @kbd{C-c C-j} key binding in
5353 Message mode and @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5354 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts two optional arguments,
5355 @code{no-keymap} and @code{no-check}. If @code{no-keymap} is non-nil,
5356 the @kbd{C-c C-j} binding is not intalled. If @code{no-check} is
5357 non-nil, @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed.
5359 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to change the
5360 keymap but not to change @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. Presumably, you
5361 want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles. Just don't
5362 forget to set that up :-)
5366 @node Marking Articles
5367 @section Marking Articles
5368 @cindex article marking
5369 @cindex article ticking
5372 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5374 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5375 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5376 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5378 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5381 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5382 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5383 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5387 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5391 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5392 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5393 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5397 @node Unread Articles
5398 @subsection Unread Articles
5400 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5405 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5406 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5408 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5409 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5410 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5411 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5412 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5413 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5414 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5417 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5418 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5420 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5421 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5422 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5423 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5427 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5428 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5430 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5435 @subsection Read Articles
5436 @cindex expirable mark
5438 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5443 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5444 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5445 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5448 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5449 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5452 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5453 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5454 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5457 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5458 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5461 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5462 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5465 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5466 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5469 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5470 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5473 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5474 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5477 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5478 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5481 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5482 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5486 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5487 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5488 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5492 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5493 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5495 One more special mark, though:
5499 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5500 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5502 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5503 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5504 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5505 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5511 @subsection Other Marks
5512 @cindex process mark
5515 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5521 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5522 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5523 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5524 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5525 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5528 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5529 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5530 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5531 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5533 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5534 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5535 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5537 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5538 Articles that are ``recently'' arrived in the group will be marked
5539 with an @samp{N} in the second column (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Most
5540 back end doesn't support the mark, in which case it's not shown.
5543 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5544 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5545 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5548 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5549 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5550 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5551 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5554 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5555 Articles that according to the back end haven't been seen by the user
5556 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5557 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all back ends support this
5558 mark, in which case it simply never appear.
5561 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5562 Articles that haven't been seen by the user before are marked with a
5563 @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5566 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5567 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5568 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5569 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5570 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5573 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5574 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5575 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5576 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5577 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5578 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5582 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5583 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5584 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5586 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5587 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5588 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5592 @subsection Setting Marks
5593 @cindex setting marks
5595 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5600 @kindex M c (Summary)
5601 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5602 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5603 @cindex mark as unread
5604 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5605 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5611 @kindex M t (Summary)
5612 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5613 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5614 @xref{Article Caching}.
5619 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5620 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5621 Mark the current article as dormant
5622 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5626 @kindex M d (Summary)
5628 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5629 Mark the current article as read
5630 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5634 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5635 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5636 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5641 @kindex M k (Summary)
5642 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5643 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5644 and then select the next unread article
5645 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5649 @kindex M K (Summary)
5650 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5651 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5652 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5653 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5656 @kindex M C (Summary)
5657 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5658 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5659 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5662 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5663 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5664 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5665 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5668 @kindex M H (Summary)
5669 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5670 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5671 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5674 @kindex M h (Summary)
5675 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5676 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5677 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5680 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5681 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5682 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5683 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5686 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5687 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5688 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5689 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5693 @kindex M e (Summary)
5695 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5696 Mark the current article as expirable
5697 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5700 @kindex M b (Summary)
5701 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5702 Set a bookmark in the current article
5703 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5706 @kindex M B (Summary)
5707 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5708 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5709 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5712 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5713 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5714 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5715 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5718 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5719 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5720 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5721 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5724 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5725 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5726 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5727 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5728 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5731 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5732 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5733 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5734 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5735 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5736 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5737 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5738 The default is @code{t}.
5741 @node Generic Marking Commands
5742 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5744 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5745 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5746 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5747 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5748 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5751 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5752 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5755 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5756 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5757 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5758 to list in this manual.
5760 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5761 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5762 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5763 article, you could say something like:
5766 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5767 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5768 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5774 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5775 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5779 @node Setting Process Marks
5780 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5781 @cindex setting process marks
5788 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5789 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5790 Mark the current article with the process mark
5791 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5792 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5796 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5797 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5798 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5799 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5802 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5803 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5804 Remove the process mark from all articles
5805 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5808 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5809 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5810 Invert the list of process marked articles
5811 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5814 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5815 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5816 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5817 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5820 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5821 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5822 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5823 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5826 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5827 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5828 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5831 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5832 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5833 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5834 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5837 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5838 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5839 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5840 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5843 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5844 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5845 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5846 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5849 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5850 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5851 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5854 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5855 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5856 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5857 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5860 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5861 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5862 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5865 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5866 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5867 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5868 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5871 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5872 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5873 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5874 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5877 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5878 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5879 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5880 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5883 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5884 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5885 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5886 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5890 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5891 set process marks based on article body contents.
5898 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5899 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5900 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5903 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5904 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5905 additional articles.
5911 @kindex / / (Summary)
5912 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5913 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5914 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
5918 @kindex / a (Summary)
5919 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5920 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5921 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
5925 @kindex / x (Summary)
5926 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5927 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5928 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5929 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
5934 @kindex / u (Summary)
5936 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5937 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5938 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5939 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5940 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5943 @kindex / m (Summary)
5944 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5945 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5946 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5949 @kindex / t (Summary)
5950 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5951 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5952 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5953 articles younger than that number of days.
5956 @kindex / n (Summary)
5957 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5958 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5959 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5960 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5963 @kindex / w (Summary)
5964 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5965 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5966 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5970 @kindex / v (Summary)
5971 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5972 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5973 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5976 @kindex / p (Summary)
5977 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter
5978 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
5979 group parameter predicate
5980 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter}). See @pxref{Group
5981 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
5985 @kindex M S (Summary)
5986 @kindex / E (Summary)
5987 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5988 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5989 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5992 @kindex / D (Summary)
5993 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5994 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5995 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5998 @kindex / * (Summary)
5999 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6000 Include all cached articles in the limit
6001 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6004 @kindex / d (Summary)
6005 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6006 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6007 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6010 @kindex / M (Summary)
6011 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6012 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6015 @kindex / T (Summary)
6016 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6017 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6020 @kindex / c (Summary)
6021 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6022 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6023 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6026 @kindex / C (Summary)
6027 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6028 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6029 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6030 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6033 @kindex / N (Summary)
6034 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6035 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6036 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6039 @kindex / o (Summary)
6040 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6041 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6042 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6050 @cindex article threading
6052 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6053 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6054 hierarchical fashion.
6056 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6057 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6058 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6059 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6060 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6061 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6062 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6064 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6068 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6071 A tree-like article structure.
6074 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6077 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6078 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6079 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6080 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6081 called loose threads.
6083 @item thread gathering
6084 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6086 @item sparse threads
6087 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6088 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6094 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6095 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6099 @node Customizing Threading
6100 @subsection Customizing Threading
6101 @cindex customizing threading
6104 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6105 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6106 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6107 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6112 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6115 @cindex loose threads
6118 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6119 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6120 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6121 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6122 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6123 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6125 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6126 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6127 There are four possible values:
6131 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6132 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6133 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6134 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6135 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6140 @cindex adopting articles
6145 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6146 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6147 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6148 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6151 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6152 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6153 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6154 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6155 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6156 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6157 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6160 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6161 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6162 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6166 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6167 display them after one another.
6170 Don't gather loose threads.
6173 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6174 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6175 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6176 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6177 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6178 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6179 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6180 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6181 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6182 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6183 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6185 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6186 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6187 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6190 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6191 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6192 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6193 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6194 simplification is used.
6196 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6197 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6198 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6199 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6201 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6203 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6209 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6210 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6211 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6212 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6217 (mapconcat 'identity
6218 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6220 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6223 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6226 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6227 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6228 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6229 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6230 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6231 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6233 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6236 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6237 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6238 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6240 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6241 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6244 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6245 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6246 Remove excessive whitespace.
6249 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6252 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6253 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6254 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6255 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6256 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6257 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6258 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6259 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6261 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6262 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6263 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6264 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6265 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6266 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6267 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6268 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6269 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6273 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6274 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6275 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6276 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6278 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6279 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6280 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6283 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6287 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6288 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6294 @node Filling In Threads
6295 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6298 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6299 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6300 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6301 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6302 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6303 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6304 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6305 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6306 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6307 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
6308 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
6309 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
6311 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6312 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6313 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6315 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6316 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6317 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6318 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6319 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6320 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6321 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6322 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6323 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6324 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6325 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6326 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6327 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6328 @code{nil} by default.
6330 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6331 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6332 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6333 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6334 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6335 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6336 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6338 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6339 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6340 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6345 @node More Threading
6346 @subsubsection More Threading
6349 @item gnus-show-threads
6350 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6351 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6352 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6353 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6354 slower and more awkward.
6356 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6357 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6358 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6361 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6362 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6363 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6364 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6365 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6366 threads are expunged.
6368 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6369 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6370 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6373 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6374 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6375 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6376 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6377 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6378 result in a new thread.
6380 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6381 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6382 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6385 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6386 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6387 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6388 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6389 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6390 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6391 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6392 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6393 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6394 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6395 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6400 @node Low-Level Threading
6401 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6405 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6406 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6407 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6409 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6410 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6411 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6412 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6413 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6414 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6415 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6416 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6417 meaningful. Here's one example:
6420 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6422 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6423 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6425 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6427 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6434 @node Thread Commands
6435 @subsection Thread Commands
6436 @cindex thread commands
6442 @kindex T k (Summary)
6443 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6444 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6445 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6446 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6447 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6452 @kindex T l (Summary)
6453 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6454 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6455 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6456 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6459 @kindex T i (Summary)
6460 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6461 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6462 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6465 @kindex T # (Summary)
6466 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6467 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6468 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6471 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6472 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6473 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6474 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6477 @kindex T T (Summary)
6478 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6479 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6482 @kindex T s (Summary)
6483 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6484 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6485 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6488 @kindex T h (Summary)
6489 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6490 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6493 @kindex T S (Summary)
6494 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6495 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6498 @kindex T H (Summary)
6499 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6500 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6503 @kindex T t (Summary)
6504 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6505 Re-thread the current article's thread
6506 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6507 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6510 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6511 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6512 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6513 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6517 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6518 understand the numeric prefix.
6523 @kindex T n (Summary)
6525 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6527 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6528 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6529 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6532 @kindex T p (Summary)
6534 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6536 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6537 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6538 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6541 @kindex T d (Summary)
6542 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6543 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6546 @kindex T u (Summary)
6547 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6548 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6551 @kindex T o (Summary)
6552 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6553 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6556 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6557 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6558 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6559 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6560 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6561 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6562 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6563 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6564 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6565 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6566 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6567 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6571 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6572 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6574 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6575 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6576 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6577 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6578 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6579 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6580 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6581 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6582 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6583 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6584 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6585 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6587 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6588 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6589 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6590 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6591 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6592 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date} and
6593 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6595 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6596 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6597 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6599 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6600 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6601 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6602 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6603 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6604 ascending article order.
6606 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6607 by number, you could do something like:
6610 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6611 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6612 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6613 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6616 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6617 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6618 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6619 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6620 which the articles arrived.
6622 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6626 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6628 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6629 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6632 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6633 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6634 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6635 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6638 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6639 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6640 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6641 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6642 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6643 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6644 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
6645 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
6646 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
6647 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
6648 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6649 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
6650 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6652 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6656 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6657 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6658 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6663 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6664 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6665 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6666 @cindex article pre-fetch
6669 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6670 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6671 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6672 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6673 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6675 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6676 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6678 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6679 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6680 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6681 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6682 connection is blocked.
6684 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6685 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6686 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6687 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6689 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6690 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6691 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6692 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6695 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6698 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6699 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6700 happen automatically.
6702 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6703 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6704 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6705 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6706 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6707 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6708 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6710 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6711 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6712 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6713 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6714 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6715 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6716 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6717 data structure as the only parameter.
6719 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6722 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6723 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6724 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6725 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6728 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6731 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6732 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6733 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6735 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6736 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6737 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6738 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6742 Remove articles when they are read.
6745 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6748 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6750 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6751 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6752 @c from the next group.
6755 @node Article Caching
6756 @section Article Caching
6757 @cindex article caching
6760 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6761 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6762 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6763 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6764 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6766 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6768 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6769 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6770 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6771 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6772 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6773 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6774 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6775 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6777 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6778 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6779 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6780 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6781 as dormant, and don't worry.
6783 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6785 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6786 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6787 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6788 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6789 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6790 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6791 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6792 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6793 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6794 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6796 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6797 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6798 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6799 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6800 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6801 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6802 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6803 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6804 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6805 not then be downloaded by this command.
6807 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6808 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6809 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6810 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6811 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6812 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6814 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6815 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6816 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6817 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6818 variables, the group is not cached.
6820 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6821 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6822 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6823 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6824 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6825 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6826 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6827 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6828 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6831 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
6832 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
6833 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
6834 where, isn't that cool?
6836 @node Persistent Articles
6837 @section Persistent Articles
6838 @cindex persistent articles
6840 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6841 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6842 useful in my opinion.
6844 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6845 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6846 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6847 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6848 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6849 the expiry going on at the news server.
6851 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6852 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6853 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6859 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6860 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6863 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6864 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6865 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6866 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6870 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6872 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6873 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6874 interested in persistent articles:
6877 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6881 @node Article Backlog
6882 @section Article Backlog
6884 @cindex article backlog
6886 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6887 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6888 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
6889 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6890 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6891 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6892 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
6893 increase memory usage some.
6895 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6896 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
6897 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6898 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
6899 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6900 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6901 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6903 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6906 @node Saving Articles
6907 @section Saving Articles
6908 @cindex saving articles
6910 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6911 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6912 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6913 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6914 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6916 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6917 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
6918 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6920 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6921 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6922 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6923 deleted before saving.
6929 @kindex O o (Summary)
6931 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6932 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6933 Save the current article using the default article saver
6934 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6937 @kindex O m (Summary)
6938 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6939 Save the current article in mail format
6940 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6943 @kindex O r (Summary)
6944 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6945 Save the current article in rmail format
6946 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6949 @kindex O f (Summary)
6950 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6951 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6952 Save the current article in plain file format
6953 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6956 @kindex O F (Summary)
6957 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6958 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6959 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6962 @kindex O b (Summary)
6963 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6964 Save the current article body in plain file format
6965 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6968 @kindex O h (Summary)
6969 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6970 Save the current article in mh folder format
6971 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6974 @kindex O v (Summary)
6975 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6976 Save the current article in a VM folder
6977 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6981 @kindex O p (Summary)
6983 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6984 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6985 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6988 @kindex O P (Summary)
6989 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
6990 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
6991 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
6992 external program Muttprint (see
6993 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
6994 options to use is controlled by the variable
6995 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
6999 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7000 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7001 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7002 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7003 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7004 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7005 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7006 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7007 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7008 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7009 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7010 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7014 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7015 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7016 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7017 functions below, or you can create your own.
7021 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7022 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7023 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7024 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7025 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7026 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7027 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7029 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7030 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7031 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7032 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7033 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7034 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7036 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7037 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7038 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7039 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7040 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7041 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7042 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7044 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7045 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7046 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7047 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7048 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7049 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7051 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7052 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7053 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7054 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7055 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7057 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7058 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7059 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7060 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7061 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7064 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7065 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7066 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7067 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7068 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7070 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7071 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7072 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7073 reader to use this setting.
7076 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7077 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7078 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7079 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7082 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7083 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7084 available functions that generate names:
7088 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7089 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7090 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7092 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7093 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7094 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7096 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7097 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7098 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7100 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7101 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7102 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7104 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7105 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7106 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7109 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7110 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7111 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7112 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7113 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7117 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7118 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7119 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7120 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7123 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7124 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7125 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7126 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7127 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7128 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7129 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7130 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7131 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7133 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7134 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7135 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7136 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7138 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7139 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7140 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7143 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7144 lots of mail groups called things like
7145 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7146 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7147 following will do just that:
7150 (defun my-save-name (group)
7151 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7152 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7154 (setq gnus-split-methods
7155 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7160 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7161 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7162 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7163 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7164 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7165 all the files in the top level directory
7166 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7167 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7168 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7169 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7171 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7172 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7173 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7174 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7175 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7178 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7182 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7183 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7184 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7187 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7188 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7189 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7190 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7193 @node Decoding Articles
7194 @section Decoding Articles
7195 @cindex decoding articles
7197 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7198 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7201 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7202 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7203 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7204 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7205 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7206 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7210 @cindex article series
7211 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7212 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7213 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7214 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7215 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7217 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7218 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7219 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7221 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7222 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7223 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7225 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7226 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7227 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7230 @node Uuencoded Articles
7231 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7233 @cindex uuencoded articles
7238 @kindex X u (Summary)
7239 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7240 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7241 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7244 @kindex X U (Summary)
7245 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7246 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7247 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7250 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7251 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7252 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7255 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7256 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7257 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7258 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7262 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7263 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7264 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7265 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7266 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7268 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7269 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7270 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7271 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7274 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7275 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7276 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7277 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7278 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7279 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7283 @node Shell Archives
7284 @subsection Shell Archives
7286 @cindex shell archives
7287 @cindex shared articles
7289 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7290 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7291 some commands to deal with these:
7296 @kindex X s (Summary)
7297 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7298 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7301 @kindex X S (Summary)
7302 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7303 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7306 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7307 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7308 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7311 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7312 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7313 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7314 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7318 @node PostScript Files
7319 @subsection PostScript Files
7325 @kindex X p (Summary)
7326 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7327 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7330 @kindex X P (Summary)
7331 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7332 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7333 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7336 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7337 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7338 View the current PostScript series
7339 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7342 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7343 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7344 View and save the current PostScript series
7345 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7350 @subsection Other Files
7354 @kindex X o (Summary)
7355 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7356 Save the current series
7357 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7360 @kindex X b (Summary)
7361 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7362 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7363 doesn't really work yet.
7367 @node Decoding Variables
7368 @subsection Decoding Variables
7370 Adjective, not verb.
7373 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7374 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7375 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7379 @node Rule Variables
7380 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7381 @cindex rule variables
7383 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7384 variables are of the form
7387 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7394 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7395 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7397 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7398 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7401 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7402 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7405 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7406 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7407 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7408 user and default view rules.
7410 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7411 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7412 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7417 @node Other Decode Variables
7418 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7421 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7423 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7424 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7425 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7426 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7427 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7431 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7432 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7435 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7436 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7437 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7440 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7441 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7442 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7443 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7444 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7447 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7448 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7449 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7451 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7452 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7453 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7454 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7455 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7458 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7459 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7460 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7462 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7463 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7464 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7465 looking for files to display.
7467 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7468 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7469 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7472 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7473 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7474 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7477 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7478 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7479 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7482 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7483 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7484 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7487 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7488 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7489 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7490 decoded articles as unread.
7492 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7493 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7494 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7495 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7497 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7498 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7499 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7501 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7502 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7504 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7505 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7506 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7507 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7509 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7510 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7511 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7512 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7513 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7514 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7515 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7516 simply dropped them.
7521 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7522 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7526 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7527 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7528 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7529 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7530 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7531 for you when you post the article.
7533 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7534 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7535 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7536 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7538 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7539 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7540 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7541 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7542 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7543 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7544 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7546 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7547 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7548 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7549 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7550 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7551 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7552 Default is @code{t}.
7558 @subsection Viewing Files
7559 @cindex viewing files
7560 @cindex pseudo-articles
7562 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7563 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7564 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7565 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7566 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7567 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7568 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7570 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7571 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7572 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7573 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7575 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7576 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7577 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7579 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7580 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7581 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7582 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7583 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7585 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7586 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7587 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7588 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7589 a list of parameters to that command.
7591 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7592 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7593 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7595 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7596 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7597 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7600 @node Article Treatment
7601 @section Article Treatment
7603 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7604 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7605 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7606 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7607 these articles easier.
7610 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7611 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7612 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7613 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7614 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7615 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7616 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7617 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7618 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7619 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7623 @node Article Highlighting
7624 @subsection Article Highlighting
7625 @cindex highlighting
7627 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7628 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7633 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7634 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7635 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7636 Do much highlighting of the current article
7637 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7638 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7641 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7642 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7643 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7644 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7645 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7646 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7647 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7648 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7649 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7650 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7651 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7652 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7655 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7656 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7657 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7659 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7662 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7664 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7665 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7666 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7668 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7669 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7670 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7672 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7673 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7674 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7675 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7676 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7677 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7679 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7680 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7681 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7683 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7684 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7685 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7687 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7688 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7689 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7690 that it's a citation.
7692 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7693 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7694 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7696 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7697 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7698 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7700 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7701 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7702 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7703 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7709 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7710 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7711 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7712 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7713 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7714 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7715 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7716 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7721 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7724 @node Article Fontisizing
7725 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7727 @cindex article emphasis
7729 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7730 @kindex W e (Summary)
7731 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7732 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7733 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7734 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7736 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7737 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7738 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7739 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7740 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7741 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7742 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7743 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7747 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7748 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7749 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7758 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7759 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7760 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7761 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7762 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7763 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7764 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7765 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7766 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7767 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7768 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7769 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7770 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7772 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7773 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7774 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7778 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7781 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7783 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7784 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7785 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7786 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7788 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7791 @node Article Hiding
7792 @subsection Article Hiding
7793 @cindex article hiding
7795 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7796 too much cruft in most articles.
7801 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7802 @findex gnus-article-hide
7803 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7804 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7805 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7808 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7809 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7810 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7814 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7815 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7816 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7817 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7820 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7821 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7822 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7826 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7827 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7828 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7829 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7830 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7831 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7832 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7833 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7837 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7838 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7839 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7840 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7845 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7846 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7847 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7848 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7849 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7850 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7851 articles that have signatures in them do:
7853 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7855 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7857 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7858 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7860 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7863 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7868 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7869 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7870 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7871 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7874 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7875 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7878 @cindex stripping advertisements
7879 @cindex advertisements
7880 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7881 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7882 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7883 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7884 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7885 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7886 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7887 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7888 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7889 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7893 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7894 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7895 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7896 customizing the hiding:
7900 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7901 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7902 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7903 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7904 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7905 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7906 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7911 Starting point of the hidden text.
7913 Ending point of the hidden text.
7915 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7917 Number of lines of hidden text.
7920 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7921 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7922 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7923 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7924 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7929 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7930 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7932 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7933 following two variables:
7936 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7937 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7938 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7939 50), hide the cited text.
7941 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7942 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7943 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7948 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7949 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7950 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7951 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7952 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7953 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7957 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7958 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7959 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7961 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7962 citation customization.
7964 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7968 @node Article Washing
7969 @subsection Article Washing
7971 @cindex article washing
7973 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7974 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7976 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7977 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7980 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
7981 articles by default.
7986 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
7987 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
7991 @kindex W l (Summary)
7992 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7993 Remove page breaks from the current article
7994 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7998 @kindex W r (Summary)
7999 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8000 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8001 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8002 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8003 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8004 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8006 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8007 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8008 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8009 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8013 @kindex W t (Summary)
8015 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8016 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8017 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8020 @kindex W v (Summary)
8021 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
8022 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8023 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
8026 @kindex W o (Summary)
8027 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8028 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8031 @kindex W d (Summary)
8032 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8033 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8035 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8037 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8038 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8039 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8040 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8043 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8044 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8045 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8046 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8049 @kindex W w (Summary)
8050 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8051 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8053 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8057 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8058 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8059 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8062 @kindex W C (Summary)
8063 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8064 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8065 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8068 @kindex W c (Summary)
8069 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8070 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8071 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8072 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8073 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8076 @kindex W q (Summary)
8077 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8078 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8079 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
8080 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
8081 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
8082 readable to me. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
8083 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
8084 header that says that this encoding has been done.
8085 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8088 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8089 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8090 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8091 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8092 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
8093 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8094 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8096 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8099 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8100 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8101 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8102 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8103 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8106 @kindex W h (Summary)
8107 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8108 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
8109 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
8110 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
8112 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8115 @kindex W b (Summary)
8116 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8117 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8118 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8121 @kindex W B (Summary)
8122 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8123 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8124 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8127 @kindex W p (Summary)
8128 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8129 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8130 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8131 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8132 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8133 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8134 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8137 @kindex W s (Summary)
8138 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8139 Verify a signed (PGP, PGP/MIME or S/MIME) message
8140 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8143 @kindex W W H (Summary)
8144 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
8145 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8146 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
8149 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8150 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8151 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8152 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8155 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8156 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8157 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8158 lines with a single empty line.
8159 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8162 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8163 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8164 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8165 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8168 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8169 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8170 Do all the three commands above
8171 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8174 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8175 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8176 Remove all blank lines
8177 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8180 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8181 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8182 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8183 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8186 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8187 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8188 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8189 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8193 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8196 @node Article Header
8197 @subsection Article Header
8199 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8204 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8205 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8206 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8209 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8210 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8211 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8212 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8215 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8216 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-header
8217 Fold all the message headers
8218 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8223 @node Article Buttons
8224 @subsection Article Buttons
8227 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8228 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8229 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8230 button on these references.
8232 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8233 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
8234 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
8239 @item gnus-button-alist
8240 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8241 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8244 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8250 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8251 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8252 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
8255 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8256 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8257 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8260 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8261 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8262 avoid false matches.
8265 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8268 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8269 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8273 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8276 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8279 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8280 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8281 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8282 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8283 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8286 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8289 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8291 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8292 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8293 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8294 default values of the variables above.
8296 @item gnus-article-button-face
8297 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8298 Face used on buttons.
8300 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8301 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8302 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8306 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8310 @subsection Article Date
8312 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8313 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8314 when the article was sent.
8319 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8320 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8321 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8322 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8325 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8326 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8328 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8329 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8332 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8333 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8334 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8337 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8338 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8339 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8340 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8343 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8344 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8345 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8346 @findex format-time-string
8347 Display the date using a user-defined format
8348 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8349 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8350 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8351 for a list of possible format specs.
8354 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8355 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8356 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8357 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8358 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8359 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8362 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8365 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8366 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8369 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8370 into wonderful absurdities.
8372 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8375 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8378 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8379 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8383 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8384 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8385 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8386 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8387 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8388 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8389 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8393 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8394 preferred format automatically.
8397 @node Article Display
8398 @subsection Article Display
8403 These commands add various frivolous display gimmics to the article
8404 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8406 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8407 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8409 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8410 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8412 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8413 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8415 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8420 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8421 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8422 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8423 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8426 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8427 @findex gnus-smiley-smiley
8428 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8431 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8432 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8433 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8436 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8437 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8438 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8439 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8442 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8443 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8444 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8445 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8448 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8449 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8450 Remove all images from the article buffer
8451 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8457 @node Article Signature
8458 @subsection Article Signature
8460 @cindex article signature
8462 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8463 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8464 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8465 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8466 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8467 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8468 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8469 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8470 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8473 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8474 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8475 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8476 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8477 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8478 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8479 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8480 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8483 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8486 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8487 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8488 signature when displaying articles.
8492 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8495 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8498 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8499 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8501 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8502 in question is not a signature.
8505 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8506 listed above. Here's an example:
8509 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8510 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8513 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8514 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8515 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8516 signature after all.
8519 @node Article Miscellania
8520 @subsection Article Miscellania
8524 @kindex A t (Summary)
8525 @findex gnus-article-babel
8526 Translate the article from one language to another
8527 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8533 @section @sc{mime} Commands
8534 @cindex MIME decoding
8536 @cindex viewing attachments
8538 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8539 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8545 @kindex K v (Summary)
8546 View the @sc{mime} part.
8549 @kindex K o (Summary)
8550 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8553 @kindex K c (Summary)
8554 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8557 @kindex K e (Summary)
8558 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8561 @kindex K i (Summary)
8562 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8565 @kindex K | (Summary)
8566 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8569 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8574 @kindex K b (Summary)
8575 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8576 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8580 @kindex K m (Summary)
8581 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8582 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8583 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8584 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8585 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8588 @kindex X m (Summary)
8589 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8590 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8591 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8592 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8595 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8596 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
8597 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8598 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8601 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8602 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8603 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8606 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8607 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8608 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8610 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8611 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8612 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8613 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
8614 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
8615 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8618 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8619 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8620 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8627 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8628 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8629 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8630 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8633 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8636 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8640 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8641 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8642 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8643 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8644 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8645 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8648 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8649 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8650 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8651 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8652 displayed. This variable overrides
8653 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8655 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8656 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8657 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8659 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8660 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8661 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8662 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8663 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8664 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8665 save all jpegs into some directory).
8667 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8670 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8671 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8673 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8674 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8675 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8676 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8677 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8680 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8681 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8682 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8684 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8685 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8686 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8687 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8689 Ready-made functions include@*
8690 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8691 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8692 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8693 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8694 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8695 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8696 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8697 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8698 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8699 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8700 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8701 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8703 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8704 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8706 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8707 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8708 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8711 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8712 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8713 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8714 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8718 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8727 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8728 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8729 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8730 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8731 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8732 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8733 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8735 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8736 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8737 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8738 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8740 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8741 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8742 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8743 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8744 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8745 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8746 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8747 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8749 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8750 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8751 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8752 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8753 quoted-printable header encoding.
8755 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8756 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8757 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8761 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8764 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8765 means encode all charsets),
8767 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8768 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8769 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8776 @cindex coding system aliases
8777 @cindex preferred charset
8779 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8781 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8782 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8785 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8786 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8789 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8790 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8792 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8795 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
8798 This will almost do the right thing.
8800 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
8804 (codepage-setup 1251)
8805 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
8809 @node Article Commands
8810 @section Article Commands
8817 @kindex A P (Summary)
8818 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
8819 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
8820 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
8821 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
8822 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
8823 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
8828 @node Summary Sorting
8829 @section Summary Sorting
8830 @cindex summary sorting
8832 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
8833 can't really see why you'd want that.
8838 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
8839 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
8840 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
8843 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
8844 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
8845 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8848 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8849 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8850 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8853 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8854 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8855 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8858 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8859 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8860 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8863 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8864 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8865 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8868 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8869 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8870 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8873 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
8874 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
8875 Sort using the default sorting method
8876 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
8879 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8880 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8881 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8882 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8883 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8887 @node Finding the Parent
8888 @section Finding the Parent
8889 @cindex parent articles
8890 @cindex referring articles
8895 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8896 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8897 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8898 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8899 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8900 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8901 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8902 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8903 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8905 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8906 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8907 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
8908 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8909 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8913 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8914 @kindex A R (Summary)
8915 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8916 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8919 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8920 @kindex A T (Summary)
8921 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8922 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8923 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8924 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8925 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8926 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8927 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8929 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8930 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8931 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8932 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8933 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8934 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8937 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8938 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8940 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8941 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8942 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8943 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8944 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8945 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8946 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8949 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8950 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8951 by giving this command a prefix.
8953 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8954 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
8955 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8956 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8957 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8958 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8961 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8962 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8963 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8966 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8967 then ask Deja if that fails:
8970 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8972 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8975 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
8976 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox}
8977 and @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8978 @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder} and @code{nnimap}1 are only able to locate
8979 articles that have been posted to the current group. (Anything else
8980 would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at
8984 @node Alternative Approaches
8985 @section Alternative Approaches
8987 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8988 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8991 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8992 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8997 @subsection Pick and Read
8998 @cindex pick and read
9000 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9001 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9002 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9003 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9005 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9006 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9007 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9008 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9009 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9010 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9012 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9017 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9018 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9019 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9020 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9021 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9022 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9023 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9024 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9027 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9028 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9029 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9030 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9034 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9035 Unpick the thread or article
9036 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9037 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9038 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9039 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9040 the thread or article at that line.
9044 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9045 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9046 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9047 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9048 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9049 will still be visible when you are reading.
9053 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9054 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9055 which is mapped to the same function
9056 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9058 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9061 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9064 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9065 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9067 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9068 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9069 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9071 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9072 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9073 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9074 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9075 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9076 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9077 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9081 @subsection Binary Groups
9082 @cindex binary groups
9084 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9085 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9086 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9087 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9088 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9089 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9090 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9093 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9094 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9095 command, when you have turned on this mode
9096 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9098 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9099 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9103 @section Tree Display
9106 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9107 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9108 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9109 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9112 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9115 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9116 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9117 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9119 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9120 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9121 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9122 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9123 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9125 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9126 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9127 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9128 default is @code{modeline}.
9130 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9131 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9132 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9133 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9134 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9135 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9136 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9142 The name of the poster.
9144 The @code{From} header.
9146 The number of the article.
9148 The opening bracket.
9150 The closing bracket.
9155 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9157 Variables related to the display are:
9160 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9161 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9162 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9163 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9164 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9165 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9167 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9168 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9169 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9170 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9174 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9175 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9176 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9177 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9178 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9179 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9180 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9181 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9182 other windows displayed next to it.
9184 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9188 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9189 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9192 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9193 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9194 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9195 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9196 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9197 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9198 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9202 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9205 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9215 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9219 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9220 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9222 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9224 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9229 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9230 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9231 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9234 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9235 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9236 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9237 (gnus-add-configuration
9241 (summary 0.75 point)
9246 @xref{Window Layout}.
9249 @node Mail Group Commands
9250 @section Mail Group Commands
9251 @cindex mail group commands
9253 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9254 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9256 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9257 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9262 @kindex B e (Summary)
9263 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9264 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9265 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9266 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9267 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9270 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9271 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9272 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9273 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9274 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9275 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9278 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9279 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9280 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9281 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9282 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9283 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9286 @kindex B m (Summary)
9288 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9289 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9290 Move the article from one mail group to another
9291 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9292 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9295 @kindex B c (Summary)
9297 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9298 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9299 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9300 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9301 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9304 @kindex B B (Summary)
9305 @cindex crosspost mail
9306 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9307 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9308 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9309 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9310 be properly updated.
9313 @kindex B i (Summary)
9314 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9315 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9316 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9317 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9320 @kindex B r (Summary)
9321 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9322 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9323 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9324 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9325 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9326 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9327 (which is the default).
9331 @kindex B w (Summary)
9333 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9334 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9335 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9336 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9337 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9338 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9341 @kindex B q (Summary)
9342 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9343 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9344 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9345 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9348 @kindex B t (Summary)
9349 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9350 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9351 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9354 @kindex B p (Summary)
9355 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9356 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9357 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9358 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9359 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9360 article from your news server (or rather, from
9361 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9362 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9363 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9364 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9365 just not have arrived yet.
9369 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9370 @cindex moving articles
9371 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9372 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9373 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9374 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9375 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9376 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9377 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9380 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9381 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9382 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9383 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9387 @node Various Summary Stuff
9388 @section Various Summary Stuff
9391 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9392 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9393 * Summary Generation Commands::
9394 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9398 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9399 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9400 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9402 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9403 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9404 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9405 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9406 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9407 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9410 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9411 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9412 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9413 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9414 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9416 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9417 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9418 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9421 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9422 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9423 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9424 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9425 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9426 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9427 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9428 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9429 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9430 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9432 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9433 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9434 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9435 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9436 list of articles to be selected.
9438 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9439 the list in one particular group:
9442 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9443 (if (string= group "some.group")
9444 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9448 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9449 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9450 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9451 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9452 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9453 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9454 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9455 buffers. For example:
9458 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9459 '(message-use-followup-to
9460 (gnus-visible-headers .
9461 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9467 @node Summary Group Information
9468 @subsection Summary Group Information
9473 @kindex H f (Summary)
9474 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9475 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9476 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9477 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9478 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9479 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9480 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9481 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9482 be used for fetching the file.
9485 @kindex H d (Summary)
9486 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9487 Give a brief description of the current group
9488 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9489 rereading the description from the server.
9492 @kindex H h (Summary)
9493 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9494 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9495 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9498 @kindex H i (Summary)
9499 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9500 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9504 @node Searching for Articles
9505 @subsection Searching for Articles
9510 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9511 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9512 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9513 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9516 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9517 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9518 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9519 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9523 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9524 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9525 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9526 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9527 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9528 search backward instead.
9530 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9531 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9534 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9535 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9536 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9537 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9540 @node Summary Generation Commands
9541 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9546 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9547 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9548 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9551 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9552 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9553 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9554 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9559 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9560 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9566 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9567 @kindex A D (Summary)
9568 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9569 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9570 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9571 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9572 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9573 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9574 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9575 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9579 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9580 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9581 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9582 several documents into one biiig group
9583 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9584 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9585 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9586 command understands the process/prefix convention
9587 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9590 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9591 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9592 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9593 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9594 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9595 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9599 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9600 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9601 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9604 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
9605 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9606 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9607 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9610 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
9611 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9612 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9613 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9618 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9619 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9620 @cindex summary exit
9621 @cindex exiting groups
9623 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9624 group and return you to the group buffer.
9630 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9632 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9633 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9634 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9635 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9636 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9637 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9638 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9639 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9640 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9641 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9642 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9646 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9648 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9649 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9650 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9654 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9656 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9657 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9658 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9659 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9662 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9663 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9664 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9665 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9668 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9669 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9670 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9671 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9674 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9675 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9676 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9677 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9678 all articles, both read and unread.
9682 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9683 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9684 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9685 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9686 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9687 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9688 articles, both read and unread.
9691 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9692 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9693 Exit the group and go to the next group
9694 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9697 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9698 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9699 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9700 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9703 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9704 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9705 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9706 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9707 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9708 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9711 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9712 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9713 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9714 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9716 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9717 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9718 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9719 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9720 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9721 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9722 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9723 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9724 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9725 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9726 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9727 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9729 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9731 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9732 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9733 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9734 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9735 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9736 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9737 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9738 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9739 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9742 @node Crosspost Handling
9743 @section Crosspost Handling
9747 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
9748 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
9749 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
9750 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
9751 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
9752 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
9755 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
9756 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
9757 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
9758 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
9759 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
9761 @cindex cross-posting
9764 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
9765 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
9766 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
9767 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
9768 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
9769 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
9770 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
9771 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
9772 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
9773 the cross reference mechanism.
9775 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
9776 @cindex overview.fmt
9777 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
9778 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
9779 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
9780 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
9781 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
9782 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
9785 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
9786 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
9787 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
9792 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
9795 @node Duplicate Suppression
9796 @section Duplicate Suppression
9798 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
9799 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
9800 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
9801 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
9806 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
9807 is evil and not very common.
9810 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
9811 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
9814 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
9815 different @sc{nntp} servers.
9818 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
9821 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
9822 well, but these four are the most common situations.
9824 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
9825 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
9826 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
9827 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
9828 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
9829 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
9830 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
9833 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
9834 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
9835 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
9836 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
9837 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
9841 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
9842 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
9843 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
9845 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
9846 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
9847 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
9848 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
9849 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
9850 session are suppressed.
9852 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
9853 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
9854 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
9855 suppression list. The default is 10000.
9857 @item gnus-duplicate-file
9858 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
9859 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
9860 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
9863 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
9864 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
9865 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
9866 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
9867 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
9868 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
9869 to you to figure out, I think.
9874 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
9875 The formats that are supported are PGP, PGP/MIME and S/MIME, however
9876 you need some external programs to get things to work:
9880 To handle PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or gpg.el as
9881 well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG).
9884 To handle S/MIME message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
9885 or newer is recommended.
9889 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
9890 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
9893 @item mm-verify-option
9894 @vindex mm-verify-option
9895 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
9896 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
9897 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9899 @item mm-decrypt-option
9900 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
9901 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
9902 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
9903 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9908 @section Mailing List
9910 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
9911 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
9912 possibly using @kbd{A M} in the summary buffer, or say:
9915 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
9918 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
9923 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
9924 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
9925 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
9928 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
9929 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
9930 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
9933 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
9934 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
9935 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
9939 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
9940 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
9941 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
9944 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
9945 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9946 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
9949 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
9950 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9951 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
9955 @node Article Buffer
9956 @chapter Article Buffer
9957 @cindex article buffer
9959 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
9960 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
9961 tell Gnus otherwise.
9964 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
9965 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
9966 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
9967 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
9968 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9972 @node Hiding Headers
9973 @section Hiding Headers
9974 @cindex hiding headers
9975 @cindex deleting headers
9977 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9978 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9980 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9981 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9982 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9983 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9984 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9985 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9986 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9987 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9988 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9990 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9994 @item gnus-visible-headers
9995 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9996 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9997 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9998 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10000 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10001 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10004 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10007 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10010 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10011 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10012 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10013 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10014 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10015 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10017 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10018 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10021 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10024 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10027 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10028 variable will have no effect.
10032 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10033 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10034 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10035 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10036 the headers are to be displayed.
10038 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10039 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10042 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10045 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10046 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10048 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10049 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10050 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10051 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10052 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10053 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10054 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10057 These conditions are:
10060 Remove all empty headers.
10062 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10063 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10065 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10066 @code{From} header.
10068 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10071 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10072 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10074 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10077 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10079 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10082 To include these three elements, you could say something like;
10085 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10086 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10089 This is also the default value for this variable.
10093 @section Using MIME
10096 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10097 while people stand around yawning.
10099 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10100 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10102 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10103 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10104 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10106 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10107 @findex gnus-display-mime
10108 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10109 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10110 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10111 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
10113 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10117 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10118 @item RET (Article)
10119 @kindex RET (Article)
10120 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10121 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
10122 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
10124 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10125 @item M-RET (Article)
10126 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10128 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10129 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10131 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10133 @kindex t (Article)
10134 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
10135 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10137 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10139 @kindex C (Article)
10140 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10141 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10143 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10145 @kindex o (Article)
10146 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
10147 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10149 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10150 @item C-o (Article)
10151 @kindex C-o (Article)
10152 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
10153 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10154 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10155 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
10156 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
10157 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10159 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10161 @kindex c (Article)
10162 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10163 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
10165 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10167 @kindex p (Article)
10168 Print the @sc{mime} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10169 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10170 @file{.mailcap} file.
10172 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10174 @kindex i (Article)
10175 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
10176 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10177 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10178 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10179 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10182 @findex gnus-mime-internalize-part
10184 @kindex E (Article)
10185 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10186 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10187 (@code{gnus-mime-internalize-part}).
10189 @findex gnus-mime-externalize-part
10191 @kindex e (Article)
10192 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
10193 (@code{gnus-mime-externalize-part}).
10195 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10197 @kindex | (Article)
10198 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10200 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10202 @kindex . (Article)
10203 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
10204 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10208 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10209 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
10212 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10213 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10214 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
10215 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10216 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10217 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10218 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10219 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10220 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10222 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10224 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10227 @node Customizing Articles
10228 @section Customizing Articles
10229 @cindex article customization
10231 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10232 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10233 called automatically when you select the articles.
10235 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10236 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10237 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10238 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10240 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10241 for sensible values.
10245 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10248 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10251 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10254 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10257 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10261 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10262 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10263 regexps in the list.
10266 A list where the first element is not a string:
10268 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10269 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10270 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10274 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10279 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10280 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10281 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10282 considered to contain just a single part.
10284 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10285 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10286 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10287 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10288 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10289 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10290 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10292 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10293 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10294 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10295 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10298 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10299 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10301 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10303 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10304 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10305 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10306 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10307 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10308 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10309 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10310 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10311 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10313 @xref{Article Washing}.
10315 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10316 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10317 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10318 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10319 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10320 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10321 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10323 @xref{Article Date}.
10325 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10326 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10327 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10331 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10333 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10335 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10336 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10337 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10341 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10345 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10346 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10347 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10348 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10349 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10350 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10351 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10352 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10354 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10356 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10357 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10358 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10360 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10362 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10363 @item gnus-treat-translate
10364 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10366 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10367 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10368 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10374 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10375 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10376 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10377 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10378 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10382 @node Article Keymap
10383 @section Article Keymap
10385 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10386 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10387 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10388 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10391 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10396 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10397 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10398 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10401 @kindex DEL (Article)
10402 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10403 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10406 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10407 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10408 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10409 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10410 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10413 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10414 @findex gnus-article-mail
10415 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10416 given a prefix, include the mail.
10419 @kindex s (Article)
10420 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10421 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10422 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10425 @kindex ? (Article)
10426 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10427 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10428 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10431 @kindex TAB (Article)
10432 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10433 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10434 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10437 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10438 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10439 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10442 @kindex R (Article)
10443 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10444 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10445 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10446 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10450 @kindex F (Article)
10451 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10452 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10453 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10454 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10462 @section Misc Article
10466 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10467 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10468 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10469 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10472 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10473 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10475 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10476 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10478 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10479 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10480 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10481 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10482 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10483 the contents of the article buffer.
10485 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10486 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10487 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10489 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10490 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10491 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10492 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10494 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10495 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10496 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10497 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10498 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10504 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10505 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10506 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10511 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10514 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10517 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10518 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10519 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10522 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10525 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10528 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10533 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10537 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10539 @item gnus-break-pages
10540 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10541 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10542 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10543 paging will not be done.
10545 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10546 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10547 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10552 @node Composing Messages
10553 @chapter Composing Messages
10554 @cindex composing messages
10557 @cindex sending mail
10562 @cindex using s/mime
10563 @cindex using smime
10565 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10566 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10567 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10568 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
10569 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10570 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10573 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10574 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
10575 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10576 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10577 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10578 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10579 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10580 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
10583 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10584 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10590 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10593 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10594 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10595 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10596 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10598 @item gnus-add-to-list
10599 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10600 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10601 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10606 @node Posting Server
10607 @section Posting Server
10609 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10610 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10612 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10614 @vindex gnus-post-method
10616 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will post using the same
10617 select method as you're reading from (which might be convenient if
10618 you're reading lots of groups from different private servers).
10619 However. If the server you're reading from doesn't allow posting,
10620 just reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
10621 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
10622 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10625 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10628 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10629 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10630 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10631 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10633 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10634 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10636 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10637 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10640 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10641 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
10644 @node Mail and Post
10645 @section Mail and Post
10647 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10651 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10652 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10653 @cindex mailing lists
10655 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10656 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10657 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10658 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10659 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10660 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10661 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10662 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10663 still a pain, though.
10667 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10668 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10669 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10672 @findex ispell-message
10674 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10677 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10678 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10681 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10685 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10686 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10688 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10691 Modify to suit your needs.
10694 @node Archived Messages
10695 @section Archived Messages
10696 @cindex archived messages
10697 @cindex sent messages
10699 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10700 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10701 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10702 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10705 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
10706 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
10707 use to store sent messages. The default is:
10710 (nnfolder "archive"
10711 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
10712 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
10713 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
10714 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
10717 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
10718 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
10719 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
10720 directory chosen, you could say something like:
10723 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
10724 '(nnfolder "archive"
10725 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
10726 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
10727 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
10730 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
10732 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
10733 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
10734 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
10736 This variable can be used to do the following:
10741 Messages will be saved in that group.
10743 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
10744 message will not be stored in the select method given by
10745 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
10746 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
10747 has the default value shown above. Then setting
10748 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
10749 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
10750 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
10754 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
10756 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
10757 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
10760 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
10765 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
10767 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
10770 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
10772 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
10775 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
10777 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10778 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
10779 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
10780 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
10783 More complex stuff:
10785 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10786 '((if (message-news-p)
10791 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
10792 messages in one file per month:
10795 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10796 '((if (message-news-p)
10798 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
10801 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
10802 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
10804 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
10805 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
10806 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
10807 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
10808 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
10809 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
10810 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
10811 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
10812 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
10813 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
10815 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
10816 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
10817 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
10818 this will disable archiving.
10821 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
10822 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
10823 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
10824 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
10825 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
10828 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
10829 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
10830 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
10833 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
10834 but the latter is the preferred method.
10836 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
10837 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
10838 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
10843 @node Posting Styles
10844 @section Posting Styles
10845 @cindex posting styles
10848 All them variables, they make my head swim.
10850 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
10851 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
10852 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
10855 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
10856 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
10857 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
10858 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
10859 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
10864 (signature "Peace and happiness")
10865 (organization "What me?"))
10867 (signature "Death to everybody"))
10868 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
10869 (organization "Emacs is it")))
10872 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
10873 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
10874 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
10875 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
10876 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
10877 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
10878 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
10879 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
10881 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
10882 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
10883 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header (the
10884 next element in the match) in the original article , and compare that to
10885 the last regexp in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function
10886 will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the
10887 variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be
10888 @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value,
10889 then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
10891 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
10892 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
10893 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
10894 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
10895 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
10896 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
10897 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
10898 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
10899 result is thrown away.
10901 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
10902 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
10903 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
10904 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
10905 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
10906 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
10908 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
10909 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
10910 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
10912 @findex message-mail-p
10913 @findex message-news-p
10915 So here's a new example:
10918 (setq gnus-posting-styles
10920 (signature-file "~/.signature")
10922 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
10923 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
10925 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
10926 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
10927 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
10929 (signature my-news-signature))
10930 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
10931 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
10932 ((posting-from-work-p)
10933 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
10934 (address "user@@bar.foo")
10935 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
10936 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
10938 (From (save-excursion
10939 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
10940 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
10942 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
10945 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
10946 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
10947 if you fill many roles.
10954 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
10955 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
10956 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
10957 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
10958 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
10960 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
10961 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
10962 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
10963 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
10964 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
10968 @vindex nndraft-directory
10969 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
10970 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
10971 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
10972 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
10973 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
10974 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
10976 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
10977 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
10980 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
10981 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
10982 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
10983 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
10984 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
10985 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
10986 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
10987 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
10988 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
10989 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
10990 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
10991 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
10992 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
10993 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
10995 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
10996 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
10997 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
10999 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11000 @kindex D e (Draft)
11001 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11002 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11003 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11005 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11008 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11009 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11010 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11011 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11012 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11013 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11014 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11017 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11018 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11019 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11022 @node Rejected Articles
11023 @section Rejected Articles
11024 @cindex rejected articles
11026 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11027 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11028 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11029 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11031 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
11032 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11033 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11034 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
11035 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11037 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11038 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11039 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11041 @node Signing and encrypting
11042 @section Signing and encrypting
11044 @cindex using s/mime
11045 @cindex using smime
11047 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11048 format or PGP/MIME or S/MIME. For decoding such messages, see the
11049 @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11050 (@pxref{Security}).
11052 For PGP, Gnus supports two external libraries, @sc{gpg.el} and
11053 @sc{Mailcrypt}, you need to install at least one of them. The S/MIME
11054 support in Gnus requires the external program OpenSSL.
11056 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a MIME part is done
11057 using the @code{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @code{C-c C-m
11058 c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11063 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11064 @findex mml-secure-sign-smime
11066 Digitally sign current MIME part using S/MIME.
11069 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11070 @findex mml-secure-sign-pgp
11072 Digitally sign current MIME part using PGP.
11075 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11076 @findex mml-secure-sign-pgp
11078 Digitally sign current MIME part using PGP/MIME.
11081 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11082 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-smime
11084 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using S/MIME.
11087 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11088 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-pgp
11090 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using PGP.
11093 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11094 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-pgpmime
11096 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using PGP/MIME.
11100 Also @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}.
11102 @node Select Methods
11103 @chapter Select Methods
11104 @cindex foreign groups
11105 @cindex select methods
11107 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11108 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11109 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11110 personal mail group.
11112 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11113 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11114 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11115 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11116 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11117 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11119 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11120 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11122 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11125 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11126 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11127 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11128 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11129 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11131 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11134 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11135 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11136 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11137 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11138 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11139 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11140 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11141 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11145 @node Server Buffer
11146 @section Server Buffer
11148 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11149 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11150 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11151 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11152 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11153 back end represents a virtual server.
11155 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11156 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11157 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11158 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11160 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11161 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11162 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11163 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11164 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11165 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11166 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11168 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11169 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11172 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11173 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11174 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11175 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11176 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11177 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11178 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11181 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11182 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11185 @node Server Buffer Format
11186 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11187 @cindex server buffer format
11189 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11190 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11191 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11192 variable, with some simple extensions:
11197 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11200 The name of this server.
11203 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11206 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11209 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11210 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11211 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11212 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11222 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11225 @node Server Commands
11226 @subsection Server Commands
11227 @cindex server commands
11233 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11234 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11238 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11239 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11242 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11243 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11244 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11248 @findex gnus-server-exit
11249 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11253 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11254 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11258 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11259 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11263 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11264 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11268 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11269 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11273 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11274 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11275 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11280 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11281 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11282 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11283 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11288 @node Example Methods
11289 @subsection Example Methods
11291 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11294 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11297 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11303 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11304 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11307 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11308 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11310 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11311 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11315 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11318 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11319 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11321 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11322 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11323 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11327 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11330 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11333 Here's the method for a public spool:
11337 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11338 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11344 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11345 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11346 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11347 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11348 should probably look something like this:
11352 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11353 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11354 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11355 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11358 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11359 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11360 configuration to the example above:
11363 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11366 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11367 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11368 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11372 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11373 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11374 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11375 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11378 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11379 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11380 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11381 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11384 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11385 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11387 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11388 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11390 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11391 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11392 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11394 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11396 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11397 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11398 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11399 will contain the following:
11409 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11410 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11411 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11414 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11415 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11416 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11419 @node Server Variables
11420 @subsection Server Variables
11422 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11423 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11424 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11425 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11426 won't change the "derived" variables.
11428 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11429 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11430 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11431 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11432 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11433 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11434 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11435 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11436 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11440 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11441 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11442 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11446 @node Servers and Methods
11447 @subsection Servers and Methods
11449 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11450 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11451 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11452 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11456 @node Unavailable Servers
11457 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11459 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11460 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11461 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11462 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11463 actually the case or not.
11465 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11466 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11467 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11468 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11469 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11470 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11471 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11472 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11474 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11475 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11477 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11478 with the following commands:
11484 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11485 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11486 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11490 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11491 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11492 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11496 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11497 Mark the current server as unreachable
11498 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11501 @kindex M-o (Server)
11502 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11503 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11504 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11507 @kindex M-c (Server)
11508 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11509 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11510 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11514 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11515 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11516 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11522 @section Getting News
11523 @cindex reading news
11524 @cindex news back ends
11526 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11527 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11528 or it can read from a local spool.
11531 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11532 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11537 @subsection @sc{nntp}
11540 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11541 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11542 server as the, uhm, address.
11544 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11545 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11546 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11547 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11549 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11550 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11551 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11553 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11558 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11559 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11560 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11562 @cindex authentification
11563 @cindex nntp authentification
11564 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11565 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11566 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11567 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11568 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11569 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11570 present in this hook.
11572 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11573 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11574 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11575 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11576 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11577 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11578 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11579 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11580 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11581 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11582 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11583 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11587 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11590 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11592 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11593 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11594 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11595 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11596 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11597 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11598 @samp{force} is explained below.
11602 Here's an example file:
11605 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11606 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11609 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11610 have to be first, for instance.
11612 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11613 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11614 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11615 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11616 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11617 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11618 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11620 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11621 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11627 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11628 previously mentioned.
11630 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11632 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11633 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11634 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11635 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11636 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11639 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11640 '(("innd" (ding))))
11643 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11645 The default value is
11648 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
11649 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
11650 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
11653 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
11654 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
11656 @item nntp-maximum-request
11657 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
11658 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
11659 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
11660 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
11661 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
11662 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
11663 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
11665 @item nntp-connection-timeout
11666 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
11667 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
11668 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
11669 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
11670 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
11671 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
11672 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
11673 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
11674 no timeouts are done.
11676 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
11677 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
11678 @c @cindex PPP connections
11679 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
11680 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
11681 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
11682 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
11683 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
11684 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
11685 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
11686 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
11687 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
11688 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
11690 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
11691 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
11692 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
11693 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
11694 @c described above.
11696 @item nntp-server-hook
11697 @vindex nntp-server-hook
11698 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
11701 @item nntp-buggy-select
11702 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
11703 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
11705 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
11706 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
11707 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
11708 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
11711 @item nntp-xover-commands
11712 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
11715 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
11716 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
11720 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
11721 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
11722 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
11723 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
11724 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
11725 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
11726 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
11727 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
11728 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
11729 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
11730 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
11732 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
11733 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
11734 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
11736 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11737 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11738 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
11739 server closes connection.
11741 @item nntp-record-commands
11742 @vindex nntp-record-commands
11743 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
11744 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
11745 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
11746 that doesn't seem to work.
11748 @item nntp-open-connection-function
11749 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
11750 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
11751 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
11752 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
11753 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
11754 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
11755 indirect ones (two pre-made).
11757 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
11758 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
11759 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
11760 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
11761 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
11762 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
11763 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
11766 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
11769 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
11770 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
11774 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
11775 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
11776 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
11780 @node Direct Functions
11781 @subsubsection Direct Functions
11782 @cindex direct connection functions
11784 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
11785 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
11786 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
11787 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11790 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
11791 @item nntp-open-network-stream
11792 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
11795 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
11796 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
11797 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
11798 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
11799 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
11800 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
11801 define a server as follows:
11804 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
11806 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
11808 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
11809 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
11810 (nntp-port-number "snews")
11811 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
11814 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
11815 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
11816 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
11817 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
11818 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
11819 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
11820 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
11821 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
11825 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11826 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
11827 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
11830 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
11831 session, which is not a good idea.
11835 @node Indirect Functions
11836 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
11837 @cindex indirect connection functions
11839 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
11840 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
11841 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
11842 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
11843 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
11844 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11847 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11848 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11849 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
11850 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
11851 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
11853 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11856 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
11857 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
11858 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
11859 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
11862 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11863 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11864 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
11865 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
11867 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11870 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
11871 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
11872 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
11875 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
11876 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
11877 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
11878 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
11880 @item nntp-via-user-password
11881 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
11882 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
11884 @item nntp-via-envuser
11885 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
11886 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
11887 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
11888 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
11890 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
11891 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
11892 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
11893 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
11900 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
11905 @item nntp-via-user-name
11906 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
11907 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
11909 @item nntp-via-address
11910 @vindex nntp-via-address
11911 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
11916 @node Common Variables
11917 @subsubsection Common Variables
11919 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
11920 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
11925 @item nntp-pre-command
11926 @vindex nntp-pre-command
11927 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
11928 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
11929 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
11930 wrapper for instance.
11933 @vindex nntp-address
11934 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
11936 @item nntp-port-number
11937 @vindex nntp-port-number
11938 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
11940 @item nntp-end-of-line
11941 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
11942 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
11943 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
11944 using a non native connection function.
11946 @item nntp-telnet-command
11947 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
11948 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
11949 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
11950 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
11952 @item nntp-telnet-switches
11953 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
11954 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
11961 @subsection News Spool
11965 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
11966 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
11967 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
11970 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
11971 anything else) as the address.
11973 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
11974 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
11975 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
11976 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
11980 @item nnspool-inews-program
11981 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
11982 Program used to post an article.
11984 @item nnspool-inews-switches
11985 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
11986 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
11988 @item nnspool-spool-directory
11989 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
11990 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
11991 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
11993 @item nnspool-nov-directory
11994 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
11995 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
11996 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
11998 @item nnspool-lib-dir
11999 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12000 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12002 @item nnspool-active-file
12003 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12004 The path to the active file.
12006 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12007 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12008 The path to the group descriptions file.
12010 @item nnspool-history-file
12011 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12012 The path to the news history file.
12014 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12015 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12016 The path to the active date file.
12018 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12019 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12020 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12023 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12024 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12026 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12027 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12028 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12034 @section Getting Mail
12035 @cindex reading mail
12038 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12042 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12043 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12044 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12045 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12046 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12047 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12048 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12049 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12050 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12051 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12052 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12053 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12054 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12058 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12059 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12061 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12062 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12063 of a culture shock.
12065 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12066 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12068 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12069 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12070 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12071 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12073 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12075 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12076 deleted? How awful!
12078 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12079 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12080 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12081 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12084 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12085 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12086 they want to treat a message.
12088 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12089 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12090 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12091 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12092 archived somewhere else.
12094 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12095 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12096 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12097 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12098 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12100 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12101 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12102 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12104 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12105 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12108 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12109 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12110 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12111 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12112 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12114 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12115 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12116 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12117 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12118 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12119 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12123 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12124 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12126 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12127 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12128 and things will happen automatically.
12130 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12131 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
12134 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12137 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12138 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12139 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12140 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12141 like any other group.
12143 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12146 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12147 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12148 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12152 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12153 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12154 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12157 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12158 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12159 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12162 @node Splitting Mail
12163 @subsection Splitting Mail
12164 @cindex splitting mail
12165 @cindex mail splitting
12167 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12168 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12169 to be split into groups.
12172 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12173 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12174 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12175 ("mail.other" "")))
12178 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12179 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12180 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12181 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12182 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12183 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12184 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12187 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12190 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12191 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12192 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12193 mail belongs in that group.
12195 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12196 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12197 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12198 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12199 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12200 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12202 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12203 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12204 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12205 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12206 thinks should carry this mail message.
12208 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12209 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12210 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12211 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12213 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12214 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12215 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12216 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12217 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12219 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12222 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12223 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12224 links. If that's the case for you, set
12225 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12226 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12228 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12229 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12230 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12231 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12232 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12233 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12236 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12237 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12238 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12239 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12240 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12241 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12242 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12243 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12244 month's rent money.
12248 @subsection Mail Sources
12250 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12251 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12255 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12256 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12257 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12261 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12262 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12264 @cindex mail server
12267 @cindex mail source
12269 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12270 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12275 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12278 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12279 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12280 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12283 The following mail source types are available:
12287 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12293 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12294 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
12297 An example file mail source:
12300 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12303 Or using the default path:
12309 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12310 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12311 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12314 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12318 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12321 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12325 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12328 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12330 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12333 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12337 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
12338 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
12339 That is, mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in the
12340 group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12341 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12342 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus
12343 to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you
12344 want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12350 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12354 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12358 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12359 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12360 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12361 predicate are considered.
12365 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12369 An example directory mail source:
12372 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12377 Get mail from a POP server.
12383 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12384 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12387 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12388 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12389 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12390 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12391 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12394 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12398 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12402 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12403 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12406 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12409 The valid format specifier characters are:
12413 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12414 included in this string.
12417 The name of the server.
12420 The port number of the server.
12423 The user name to use.
12426 The password to use.
12429 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12430 corresponding keywords.
12433 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12434 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12437 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12438 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12441 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12442 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12445 @item :authentication
12446 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12447 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12452 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12453 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12455 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12456 default user name, and default fetcher:
12462 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12465 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12466 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12469 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12472 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12476 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12477 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12478 contains exactly one mail.
12484 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12485 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12488 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12489 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12491 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12492 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12493 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12496 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12497 from locking problems).
12501 Two example maildir mail sources:
12504 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12505 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12509 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12514 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12515 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12516 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12517 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12520 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
12521 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
12527 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12528 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12531 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12532 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
12535 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12539 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12543 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12544 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12545 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12546 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12548 @item :authentication
12549 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12550 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12551 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12552 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12555 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12556 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12557 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12563 The valid format specifier characters are:
12567 The name of the server.
12570 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12573 The port number of the server.
12576 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12577 corresponding keywords.
12580 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12581 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12584 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12585 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12586 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12587 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
12588 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12589 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
12592 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12593 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12594 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12595 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
12598 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
12599 after finishing the fetch.
12603 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
12606 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
12608 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
12612 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
12613 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
12615 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
12618 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
12619 required for url "4.0pre.46".
12621 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
12627 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
12628 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
12631 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
12635 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
12639 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
12640 folder after finishing the fetch.
12644 An example webmail source:
12647 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
12649 :password "secret")
12654 @item Common Keywords
12655 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
12661 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
12662 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
12666 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
12671 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
12672 useful when you use local mail and news.
12677 @subsubsection Function Interface
12679 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
12680 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
12681 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
12682 consider the following mail-source setting:
12685 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
12686 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
12689 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
12690 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
12691 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
12692 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
12693 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
12695 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
12698 @node Mail Source Customization
12699 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
12701 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
12702 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
12706 @item mail-source-crash-box
12707 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
12708 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
12709 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
12711 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
12712 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
12713 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
12715 @item mail-source-directory
12716 @vindex mail-source-directory
12717 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
12718 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
12719 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
12722 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12723 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12724 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
12725 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
12726 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
12727 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
12729 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
12730 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
12731 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
12733 @item mail-source-movemail-program
12734 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
12735 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
12736 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
12741 @node Fetching Mail
12742 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
12744 @vindex mail-sources
12745 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
12746 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
12747 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
12748 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
12750 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
12751 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
12754 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
12755 mail server, you'd say something like:
12760 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12761 :password "secret")))
12764 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
12768 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
12769 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12772 :password "secret")))
12776 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
12777 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
12778 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
12779 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
12780 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
12781 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
12785 @node Mail Back End Variables
12786 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
12788 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
12792 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12793 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12794 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
12795 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
12797 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
12798 @item nnmail-split-hook
12799 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
12800 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
12801 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
12802 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
12803 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
12804 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
12805 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
12806 in the buffer will show up in any files.
12807 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
12810 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12811 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12812 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12813 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12814 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
12815 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
12816 starting to handle the new mail) and
12817 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
12818 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
12819 default file modes the new mail files get:
12822 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12823 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
12825 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12826 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
12829 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
12830 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
12831 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
12832 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
12833 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
12834 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
12835 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
12837 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
12838 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
12839 @findex delete-file
12840 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
12842 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12843 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12844 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
12845 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
12846 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
12851 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
12852 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
12853 @cindex mail splitting
12854 @cindex fancy mail splitting
12856 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
12857 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
12858 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
12859 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
12860 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
12861 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
12863 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
12866 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
12867 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
12868 ;; from real errors.
12869 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
12871 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
12872 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
12873 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
12874 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
12875 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
12876 ;; Other mailing lists...
12877 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
12878 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
12879 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
12880 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
12881 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
12882 ;; message was really cross-posted.
12883 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
12884 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
12886 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
12887 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
12891 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
12892 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
12893 the five possible split syntaxes:
12898 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
12899 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
12903 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
12904 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
12905 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
12906 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
12907 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
12908 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
12909 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
12910 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
12913 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12914 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
12915 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
12916 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
12919 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12920 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
12923 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
12924 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
12927 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
12928 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
12929 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
12930 function should return a @var{split}.
12933 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
12934 body of the messages:
12937 (defun split-on-body ()
12939 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
12940 (goto-char (point-min))
12941 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
12945 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
12946 when the @code{:} function is run.
12949 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12950 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
12951 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
12955 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
12959 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
12960 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
12961 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
12962 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
12963 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
12965 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
12966 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
12967 are expanded as specified by the variable
12968 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
12969 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
12972 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
12973 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
12974 when all this splitting is performed.
12976 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
12977 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
12978 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
12981 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
12984 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
12985 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
12987 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
12988 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
12989 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
12990 groupings 1 through 9.
12992 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
12993 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
12994 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
12995 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
12996 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
12997 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
12998 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
12999 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13000 it once per thread.
13002 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13003 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13004 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13007 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13008 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13009 ;; other splits go here
13013 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13014 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13015 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13016 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13017 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13018 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13019 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13020 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13021 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13022 unless the group name matches the regexp
13023 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13024 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13025 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13026 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13027 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13028 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13029 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13030 messages goes into the new group.
13033 @node Group Mail Splitting
13034 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13035 @cindex mail splitting
13036 @cindex group mail splitting
13038 @findex gnus-group-split
13039 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13040 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13041 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13042 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13043 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13044 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13045 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13046 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13048 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13049 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13050 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13051 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13053 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13054 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13055 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13056 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13057 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13058 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13059 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13061 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13062 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13063 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13064 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13065 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13066 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13067 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13069 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13070 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13071 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13072 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13073 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13074 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13075 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13076 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13077 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13078 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13079 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13080 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13081 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13083 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13088 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13089 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13091 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13092 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13093 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13094 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13096 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13099 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13100 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13101 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13104 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13105 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13106 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13110 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13111 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13112 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13116 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13119 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13120 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13121 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13122 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13123 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13124 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13125 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13126 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13127 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13129 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13130 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13131 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13132 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13133 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13134 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13135 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13136 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13137 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13139 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13140 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13141 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13142 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13143 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13144 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
13147 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13150 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13151 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13152 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13153 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13154 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13157 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13158 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13159 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13160 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13162 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13163 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13164 @cindex incorporating old mail
13165 @cindex import old mail
13167 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13168 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13169 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13172 Doing so can be quite easy.
13174 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13175 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13176 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13177 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13178 your @code{nnml} groups.
13184 Go to the group buffer.
13187 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13188 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13191 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
13194 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13195 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13198 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13199 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13202 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13203 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13204 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13205 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13206 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13208 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13209 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13210 using the new mail back end.
13213 @node Expiring Mail
13214 @subsection Expiring Mail
13215 @cindex article expiry
13217 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13218 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13219 different approach to mail reading.
13221 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13222 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13223 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13224 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13225 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13226 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13229 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13230 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
13231 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13232 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13233 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13234 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13235 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13236 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13238 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13239 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
13240 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
13241 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
13242 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
13243 column in the summary buffer.
13245 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13246 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13247 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13248 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13251 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13253 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13254 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13255 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13258 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13259 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13260 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13261 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13262 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13264 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13265 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13268 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13269 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13272 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13273 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13275 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13276 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13277 don't really mix very well.
13279 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13280 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13281 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13282 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13285 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13286 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13287 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13288 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13291 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13293 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13295 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13297 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13299 ((string= group "important")
13305 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13306 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13308 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13309 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13310 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13313 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13314 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13316 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13317 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13318 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13319 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13320 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13321 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13322 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13323 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13324 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13325 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13326 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13327 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13328 name or @code{delete}.
13330 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13332 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13335 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13336 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13337 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13338 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13339 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13342 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13343 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13344 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13345 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13346 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13349 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13350 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13351 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13352 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13353 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13354 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13356 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13357 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13358 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13359 easier for procmail users.
13361 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13362 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13363 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13364 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13365 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13366 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13367 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13368 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13369 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13370 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13371 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13372 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13373 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13376 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13378 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
13379 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
13380 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
13381 auto-expire turned on.
13385 @subsection Washing Mail
13386 @cindex mail washing
13387 @cindex list server brain damage
13388 @cindex incoming mail treatment
13390 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
13391 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
13392 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
13393 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
13394 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
13395 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
13397 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
13398 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
13399 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
13402 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
13403 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
13404 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
13405 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
13408 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13409 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13410 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
13411 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
13412 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
13415 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13416 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13417 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
13418 Emacs running on MS machines.
13422 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13423 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13424 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
13425 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
13428 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13429 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13430 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
13431 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
13433 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13434 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13435 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
13436 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
13437 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
13438 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
13439 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
13442 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
13443 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
13446 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
13447 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
13450 This can also be done non-destructively with
13451 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
13453 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
13454 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
13455 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
13457 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13458 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13460 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
13461 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
13462 @code{References} headers.
13466 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13467 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13468 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
13472 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
13473 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
13474 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
13481 @subsection Duplicates
13483 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
13484 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
13485 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13486 @cindex duplicate mails
13487 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
13488 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
13489 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
13490 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
13491 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
13492 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
13493 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
13494 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
13495 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
13496 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
13497 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
13498 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
13499 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
13501 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13502 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13503 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13504 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13506 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13509 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13510 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13514 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13515 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13516 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13517 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13518 (any mail "mail.misc")
13525 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13526 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13531 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13532 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13533 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13534 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13535 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13538 @node Not Reading Mail
13539 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13541 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13542 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13543 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13545 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13546 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13547 mail, which should help.
13549 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13550 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13551 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13552 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13553 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13554 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
13555 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
13556 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
13557 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
13558 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
13559 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
13561 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
13562 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
13566 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
13567 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
13569 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
13570 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
13571 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
13573 There are five different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
13574 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
13575 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
13576 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
13579 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
13580 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
13581 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
13582 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
13583 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
13584 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
13588 @node Unix Mail Box
13589 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
13591 @cindex unix mail box
13593 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13594 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13595 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
13596 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
13597 which group it belongs in.
13599 Virtual server settings:
13602 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
13603 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13604 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
13607 @item nnmbox-active-file
13608 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13609 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
13610 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
13612 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
13613 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13614 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
13615 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
13620 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
13624 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13625 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13626 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
13627 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
13628 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
13630 Virtual server settings:
13633 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
13634 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13635 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
13637 @item nnbabyl-active-file
13638 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13639 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
13640 @file{~/.rmail-active}
13642 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13643 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13644 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
13650 @subsubsection Mail Spool
13652 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
13654 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
13655 format. It should be used with some caution.
13657 @vindex nnml-directory
13658 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
13659 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
13660 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
13661 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
13663 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
13666 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
13667 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
13668 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
13669 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
13670 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
13671 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
13672 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
13673 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
13675 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
13676 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
13677 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
13678 back end when it comes to reading mail.
13680 @cindex self contained nnml servers
13681 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
13682 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
13683 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
13684 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
13685 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
13686 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
13687 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
13688 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
13691 Virtual server settings:
13694 @item nnml-directory
13695 @vindex nnml-directory
13696 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
13697 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
13700 @item nnml-active-file
13701 @vindex nnml-active-file
13702 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
13703 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
13705 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
13706 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
13707 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13708 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
13710 @item nnml-get-new-mail
13711 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13712 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
13715 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
13716 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
13717 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13718 default is @code{nil}.
13720 @item nnml-nov-file-name
13721 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
13722 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
13724 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13725 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13726 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
13728 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
13729 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
13730 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
13731 default is @code{nil}.
13733 @item nnml-marks-file-name
13734 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
13735 The name of the @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
13739 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
13740 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
13741 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
13742 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
13743 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
13744 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
13745 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
13750 @subsubsection MH Spool
13752 @cindex mh-e mail spool
13754 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
13755 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
13756 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
13757 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
13759 Virtual server settings:
13762 @item nnmh-directory
13763 @vindex nnmh-directory
13764 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
13765 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13768 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
13769 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13770 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
13774 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
13775 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
13776 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
13777 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
13778 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
13779 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
13780 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
13785 @subsubsection Mail Folders
13787 @cindex mbox folders
13788 @cindex mail folders
13790 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
13791 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
13792 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
13795 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
13796 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
13797 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
13798 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
13799 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
13800 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
13801 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
13802 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
13803 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
13804 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
13805 @code{nnfolder} directory).
13807 Virtual server settings:
13810 @item nnfolder-directory
13811 @vindex nnfolder-directory
13812 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
13813 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13816 @item nnfolder-active-file
13817 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
13818 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
13820 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13821 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13822 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13823 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
13825 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
13826 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13827 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
13830 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13831 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13832 @cindex backup files
13833 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
13834 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
13835 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
13836 your @file{.emacs} file:
13839 (defun turn-off-backup ()
13840 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
13842 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
13845 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13846 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13847 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
13848 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
13849 extract some information from it before removing it.
13851 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13852 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13853 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13854 default is @code{nil}.
13856 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
13857 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
13858 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
13860 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
13861 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
13862 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
13863 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
13865 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
13866 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
13867 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
13868 default is @code{nil}.
13870 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
13871 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
13872 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
13874 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
13875 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
13876 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
13877 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
13882 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
13883 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
13884 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
13885 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
13886 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
13887 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
13890 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
13891 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
13893 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
13894 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
13895 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
13896 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
13897 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
13899 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
13900 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
13901 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
13902 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
13903 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
13904 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
13905 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
13906 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
13909 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
13910 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
13911 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
13912 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
13917 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
13918 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
13919 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
13920 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
13921 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
13922 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
13923 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
13924 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
13925 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
13926 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
13927 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
13928 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
13929 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
13934 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
13935 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
13936 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
13937 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
13938 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
13939 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
13940 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
13941 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
13942 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
13943 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
13944 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
13945 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
13946 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
13947 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
13949 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
13950 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
13955 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
13956 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
13957 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
13958 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
13959 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
13960 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
13961 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
13962 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
13963 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
13964 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
13965 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
13966 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
13967 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
13968 provided by the active file and overviews.
13970 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
13971 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
13972 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
13973 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
13974 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
13977 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
13978 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
13983 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
13984 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
13985 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
13986 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
13987 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
13988 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
13989 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
13993 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
13994 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
13995 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
13996 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
13997 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
13998 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
13999 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14000 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14001 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14003 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14004 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14005 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14006 friendly mail back end all over.
14011 @node Browsing the Web
14012 @section Browsing the Web
14014 @cindex browsing the web
14018 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14019 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14020 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14021 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14022 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14023 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14024 even know what a news group is.
14026 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14027 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14028 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14029 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14030 you mad in the end.
14032 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14035 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14036 interfaces to these sources.
14040 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14041 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14042 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14043 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14044 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14045 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14048 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14050 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14051 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14052 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14053 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14054 though, you should be ok.
14056 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14057 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14058 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14059 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14060 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14062 @node Archiving Mail
14063 @subsection Archiving Mail
14064 @cindex archiving mail
14065 @cindex backup of mail
14067 Some of the back ends, notably nnml and nnfolder, now actually store
14068 the article marks with each group. For these servers, archiving and
14069 restoring a group while preserving marks is fairly simple.
14071 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14072 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @code{.newsrc.eld} deity
14075 To archive an entire @code{nnml} or @code{nnfolder} server, take a
14076 recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need to shut down
14077 Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or similar. You
14078 restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and adding a server
14079 definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The @ref{Article
14080 Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things might interfer
14081 with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus before you
14084 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml} or
14085 @code{nnfolder} groups, while preserving marks. For @code{nnml}, you
14086 copy all files in the group's directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need
14087 to copy both the base folder file itself (@code{FOO}, say), and the
14088 marks file (@code{FOO.mrk} in this example). Restoring the group is
14089 done with @kbd{G m} from the Group buffer. The last step makes Gnus
14090 notice the new directory.
14093 @subsection Web Searches
14097 @cindex InReference
14098 @cindex Usenet searches
14099 @cindex searching the Usenet
14101 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14102 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14103 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14104 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14105 searches without having to use a browser.
14107 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14108 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14109 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14110 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14111 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14113 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14114 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14115 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14116 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14117 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14118 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14119 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14120 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14121 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14122 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14125 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14126 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14127 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14128 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14129 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14130 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14132 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14133 to use @code{nnweb}.
14135 Virtual server variables:
14140 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14141 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
14145 @vindex nnweb-search
14146 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14148 @item nnweb-max-hits
14149 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14150 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14153 @item nnweb-type-definition
14154 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14155 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14156 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14161 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14165 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14168 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14171 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14175 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14182 @subsection Slashdot
14186 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14187 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14188 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14190 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14191 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14194 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14195 '((nnslashdot "")))
14198 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14199 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14200 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14201 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14202 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14205 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14206 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14208 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14209 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14210 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14211 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14212 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14213 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14216 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14219 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14220 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14221 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14222 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14223 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14224 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14225 but much, much slower than untreaded.
14227 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14228 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14229 The login name to use when posting.
14231 @item nnslashdot-password
14232 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14233 The password to use when posting.
14235 @item nnslashdot-directory
14236 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14237 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14238 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14240 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14241 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14242 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14243 news articles and comments. The default is
14244 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14246 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14247 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14248 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14250 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14252 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14253 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14254 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14256 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14258 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14259 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14260 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14262 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14263 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14264 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14265 updated. The default is 0.
14272 @subsection Ultimate
14274 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14276 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14277 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14278 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14279 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14281 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14282 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14283 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14284 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14285 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14286 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14287 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14289 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14292 @item nnultimate-directory
14293 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14294 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14295 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
14300 @subsection Web Archive
14302 @cindex Web Archive
14304 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
14305 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
14306 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
14307 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14310 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
14311 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
14312 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
14313 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
14314 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
14315 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
14316 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
14318 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
14321 @item nnwarchive-directory
14322 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
14323 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
14324 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
14326 @item nnwarchive-login
14327 @vindex nnwarchive-login
14328 The account name on the web server.
14330 @item nnwarchive-passwd
14331 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
14332 The password for your account on the web server.
14340 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
14341 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
14342 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14345 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
14346 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
14349 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
14352 @item nnrss-directory
14353 @vindex nnrss-directory
14354 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
14355 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
14359 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
14360 the summary buffer.
14363 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
14364 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
14366 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
14368 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
14369 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
14372 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
14375 (require 'browse-url)
14377 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
14379 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
14382 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
14383 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
14385 (browse-url (cdr url))
14386 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
14388 (eval-after-load "gnus"
14389 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
14390 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
14391 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
14394 @node Customizing w3
14395 @subsection Customizing w3
14401 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
14402 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
14403 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
14405 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
14406 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
14407 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
14410 (eval-after-load "w3"
14412 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
14413 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
14414 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
14415 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
14417 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
14420 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
14421 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
14430 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
14431 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
14432 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
14433 specify the network address of the server.
14435 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
14436 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
14437 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
14438 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
14439 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
14441 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
14442 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
14443 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
14444 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
14446 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
14447 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
14448 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
14449 usage explained in this section.
14451 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
14452 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
14453 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
14456 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14457 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
14458 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
14460 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14461 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
14462 ; a UW server running on localhost
14464 (nnimap-server-port 143)
14465 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14466 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
14467 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
14468 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
14469 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
14470 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
14471 (nnimap-stream network))
14472 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14474 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14475 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
14476 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
14479 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
14484 @item nnimap-address
14485 @vindex nnimap-address
14487 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
14488 server name if not specified.
14490 @item nnimap-server-port
14491 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14492 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14494 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
14497 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14498 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14501 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14502 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14503 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14504 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14505 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14506 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14507 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14509 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14510 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14511 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14514 Example server specification:
14517 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14518 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14519 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14522 @item nnimap-stream
14523 @vindex nnimap-stream
14524 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
14525 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
14526 of SSL/TLS. (IMAP over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
14527 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
14529 Example server specification:
14532 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14533 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14536 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
14540 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
14541 @samp{imtest} program.
14543 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
14545 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
14546 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
14549 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
14550 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
14551 library @samp{ssl.el}.
14553 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
14555 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
14558 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
14559 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
14560 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
14561 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
14562 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
14563 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
14564 restrictions on IMAP commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
14565 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
14566 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
14569 @vindex imap-ssl-program
14570 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
14571 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
14572 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
14573 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
14574 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
14575 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
14576 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
14577 distribution, for instance).
14579 @vindex imap-shell-program
14580 @vindex imap-shell-host
14581 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
14582 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
14584 @item nnimap-authenticator
14585 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
14587 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
14588 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
14590 Example server specification:
14593 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14594 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
14597 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
14601 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
14602 external program @code{imtest}.
14604 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
14607 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
14608 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
14610 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
14612 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
14614 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
14617 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
14619 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
14620 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
14621 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
14622 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
14623 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
14624 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
14627 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
14628 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
14629 running in circles yet?
14631 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
14632 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
14635 The possible options are:
14640 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
14643 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
14644 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
14645 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
14646 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
14648 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
14653 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
14654 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
14656 If non-nil, marks dormant articles as ticked (as well), for other IMAP
14657 clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will naturally still (only) be
14658 marked as ticked. This is to make dormant articles stand out, just
14659 like ticked articles, in other IMAP clients. (In other words, Gnus has
14660 two ``Tick'' marks and IMAP has only one.)
14662 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
14663 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
14666 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
14667 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14668 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
14669 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14672 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
14673 as ticked for other users.
14675 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
14677 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
14679 This variable contain the IMAP search command sent to server when
14680 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
14681 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
14682 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
14684 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
14685 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
14686 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
14687 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
14689 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
14690 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
14692 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
14693 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
14694 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
14700 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
14701 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
14702 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
14707 @node Splitting in IMAP
14708 @subsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
14709 @cindex splitting imap mail
14711 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
14712 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
14713 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
14714 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
14715 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
14719 Here are the variables of interest:
14723 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
14724 @cindex splitting, crosspost
14726 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
14728 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
14729 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
14731 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
14733 @item nnimap-split-inbox
14734 @cindex splitting, inbox
14736 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
14738 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
14739 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
14743 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
14744 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
14747 No nnmail equivalent.
14749 @item nnimap-split-rule
14750 @cindex Splitting, rules
14751 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
14753 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
14756 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
14757 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
14758 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
14759 Neither did I, we need examples.
14762 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14764 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
14765 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
14766 ("INBOX.private" "")))
14769 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
14770 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
14771 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
14773 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
14774 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
14778 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
14781 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14782 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
14783 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
14784 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
14786 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
14787 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
14788 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
14789 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
14790 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
14791 them every time you fetch new mail.)
14793 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
14794 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
14795 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
14797 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
14798 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
14799 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14801 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
14803 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
14804 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
14805 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
14808 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14809 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
14810 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
14811 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
14812 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
14813 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
14816 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
14817 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
14818 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
14819 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
14820 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
14821 group/function elements.
14823 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
14825 @item nnimap-split-predicate
14827 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
14829 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
14830 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
14832 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
14833 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
14834 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
14837 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14838 @cindex splitting, fancy
14839 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
14840 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
14842 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14843 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
14844 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14846 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
14847 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14848 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
14849 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14854 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
14855 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
14858 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14862 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
14863 @subsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14864 @cindex editing imap acls
14865 @cindex Access Control Lists
14866 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14868 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
14870 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
14871 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
14872 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
14875 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
14876 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
14877 editing window with detailed instructions.
14879 Some possible uses:
14883 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
14884 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
14885 follow the list without subscribing to it.
14887 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
14888 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
14889 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
14893 @node Expunging mailboxes
14894 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
14898 @cindex Manual expunging
14900 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
14902 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
14903 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
14904 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
14906 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
14911 @node Other Sources
14912 @section Other Sources
14914 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
14915 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
14919 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
14920 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
14921 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
14922 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
14923 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
14927 @node Directory Groups
14928 @subsection Directory Groups
14930 @cindex directory groups
14932 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
14933 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
14936 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
14937 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
14938 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
14939 back end to read directories. Big deal.
14941 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
14942 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
14943 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
14944 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
14945 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
14947 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
14949 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
14950 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
14951 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
14952 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
14955 @node Anything Groups
14956 @subsection Anything Groups
14959 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
14960 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
14961 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
14964 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
14965 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
14966 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
14967 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
14968 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
14969 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
14970 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
14971 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
14972 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
14973 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
14976 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
14977 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
14978 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
14979 in the article buffer, just as usual.
14981 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
14982 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
14983 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
14984 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
14986 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
14987 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
14988 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
14989 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
14990 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
14991 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
14992 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
14993 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
14998 @item nneething-map-file-directory
14999 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15000 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15001 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15003 @item nneething-exclude-files
15004 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15005 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15006 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15008 @item nneething-include-files
15009 @vindex nneething-include-files
15010 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15011 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15013 @item nneething-map-file
15014 @vindex nneething-map-file
15015 Name of the map files.
15019 @node Document Groups
15020 @subsection Document Groups
15022 @cindex documentation group
15025 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15026 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15033 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15038 The standard Unix mbox file.
15040 @cindex MMDF mail box
15042 The MMDF mail box format.
15045 Several news articles appended into a file.
15048 @cindex rnews batch files
15049 The rnews batch transport format.
15050 @cindex forwarded messages
15053 Forwarded articles.
15056 Netscape mail boxes.
15059 MIME multipart messages.
15061 @item standard-digest
15062 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15065 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15068 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15069 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15070 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15073 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15074 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15075 group. And that's it.
15077 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15078 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15079 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15080 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15081 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15082 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15083 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15084 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15085 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15086 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15088 Virtual server variables:
15091 @item nndoc-article-type
15092 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15093 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15094 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15095 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15096 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail},
15097 @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman} or @code{guess}.
15099 @item nndoc-post-type
15100 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15101 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15102 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15107 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15111 @node Document Server Internals
15112 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15114 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15115 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15116 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15117 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15119 First, here's an example document type definition:
15123 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15124 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15127 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15128 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15129 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15130 types can be defined with very few settings:
15133 @item first-article
15134 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15135 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15138 @item article-begin
15139 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15140 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15142 @item head-begin-function
15143 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15146 @item nndoc-head-begin
15147 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15150 @item nndoc-head-end
15151 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15152 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
15154 @item body-begin-function
15155 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
15159 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
15162 @item body-end-function
15163 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
15167 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
15170 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
15171 regexp will be totally ignored.
15175 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
15176 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
15177 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
15178 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
15179 something that's palatable for Gnus:
15182 @item prepare-body-function
15183 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
15184 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
15185 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
15187 @item article-transform-function
15188 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
15189 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
15190 body of the article.
15192 @item generate-head-function
15193 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
15194 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
15195 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
15196 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
15200 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
15205 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15206 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15207 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
15208 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
15209 (head-end . "^ ?$")
15210 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
15211 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
15212 (subtype digest guess))
15215 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
15216 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
15217 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
15218 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
15219 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
15221 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
15222 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
15223 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
15224 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
15225 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
15226 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
15227 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
15228 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
15229 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
15230 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
15238 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
15239 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
15240 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
15242 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
15243 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
15244 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
15247 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
15248 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
15249 that interested in doing things properly.
15251 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
15252 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
15255 First some terminology:
15260 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
15261 get news and/or mail from.
15264 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
15265 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
15268 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
15272 @item message packets
15273 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
15274 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
15275 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15277 @item response packets
15278 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
15279 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
15280 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15290 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
15291 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
15292 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
15293 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
15296 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
15299 You put the packet in your home directory.
15302 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
15303 the native or secondary server.
15306 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
15307 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
15310 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
15314 You transfer this packet to the server.
15317 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
15320 You then repeat until you die.
15324 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
15325 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
15328 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
15329 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
15330 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
15334 @node SOUP Commands
15335 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
15337 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
15341 @kindex G s b (Group)
15342 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
15343 Pack all unread articles in the current group
15344 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
15345 process/prefix convention.
15348 @kindex G s w (Group)
15349 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
15350 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
15353 @kindex G s s (Group)
15354 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
15355 Send all replies from the replies packet
15356 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
15359 @kindex G s p (Group)
15360 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
15361 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
15364 @kindex G s r (Group)
15365 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
15366 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
15369 @kindex O s (Summary)
15370 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
15371 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
15372 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
15373 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15378 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
15383 @item gnus-soup-directory
15384 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
15385 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
15386 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
15388 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
15389 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
15390 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
15391 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
15393 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
15394 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
15395 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
15396 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
15398 @item gnus-soup-packer
15399 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
15400 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15401 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
15403 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
15404 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
15405 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15406 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15408 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
15409 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
15410 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
15412 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15413 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15414 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
15415 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
15421 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
15424 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
15425 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
15426 you can read them at leisure.
15428 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
15432 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
15433 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
15434 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
15435 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
15437 @item nnsoup-directory
15438 @vindex nnsoup-directory
15439 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
15440 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
15442 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
15443 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
15444 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
15445 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
15447 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
15448 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
15449 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
15450 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
15451 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
15453 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
15454 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
15455 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
15456 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
15458 @item nnsoup-active-file
15459 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
15460 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
15461 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
15462 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
15463 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
15465 @item nnsoup-packer
15466 @vindex nnsoup-packer
15467 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
15468 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
15470 @item nnsoup-unpacker
15471 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
15472 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
15473 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15475 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
15476 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
15477 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
15480 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
15481 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
15482 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
15485 @item nnsoup-always-save
15486 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
15487 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
15493 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
15495 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
15496 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
15497 more for that to happen.
15499 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
15500 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
15501 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
15504 In specific, this is what it does:
15507 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
15508 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
15511 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
15512 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
15513 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
15516 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
15517 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
15518 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
15521 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
15522 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
15523 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
15525 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
15531 @item nngateway-address
15532 @vindex nngateway-address
15533 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
15535 @item nngateway-header-transformation
15536 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
15537 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
15538 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
15539 transformation should be called, and defaults to
15540 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
15541 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
15544 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
15545 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
15546 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
15549 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
15552 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
15555 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
15558 The following pre-defined functions exist:
15560 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15563 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15564 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15565 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
15567 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15569 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15570 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15571 @code{nngateway-address}.
15576 (setq gnus-post-method
15578 "mail2news@@replay.com"
15579 (nngateway-header-transformation
15580 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
15588 So, to use this, simply say something like:
15591 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
15596 @node Combined Groups
15597 @section Combined Groups
15599 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
15603 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
15604 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
15608 @node Virtual Groups
15609 @subsection Virtual Groups
15611 @cindex virtual groups
15612 @cindex merging groups
15614 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
15617 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
15618 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
15619 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
15621 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
15622 regexp to match component groups.
15624 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
15625 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
15626 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
15627 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
15628 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
15629 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
15630 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
15631 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
15633 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
15634 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
15637 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
15640 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
15641 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
15643 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
15644 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
15645 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
15646 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
15649 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
15652 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
15653 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
15654 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
15656 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
15657 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
15658 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
15659 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
15660 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
15662 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
15663 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
15664 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
15666 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
15667 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
15668 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
15669 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15670 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
15671 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
15672 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
15673 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
15674 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
15675 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
15676 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
15678 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
15679 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
15680 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
15681 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
15682 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
15683 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
15684 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
15686 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
15687 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
15689 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
15690 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
15694 @node Kibozed Groups
15695 @subsection Kibozed Groups
15699 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
15700 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
15701 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
15702 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
15704 @kindex G k (Group)
15705 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
15708 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
15709 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
15710 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
15711 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
15713 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
15714 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
15715 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
15717 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
15718 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
15719 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
15720 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
15721 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
15722 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
15723 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
15724 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
15726 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
15727 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
15728 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
15729 Stranger things have happened.
15731 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
15732 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
15734 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
15735 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
15736 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
15737 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
15738 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
15739 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
15741 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
15742 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
15745 @node Gnus Unplugged
15746 @section Gnus Unplugged
15751 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
15753 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
15754 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
15755 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
15756 read news. Believe it or not.
15758 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
15759 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
15760 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
15761 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
15762 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
15764 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
15765 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
15766 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
15767 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
15768 reading news on a machine.
15770 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
15774 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
15775 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
15779 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
15780 @file{.gnus.el} file:
15787 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
15789 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
15792 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
15793 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
15794 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
15795 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
15796 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
15797 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
15798 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
15799 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
15800 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
15801 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
15806 @subsection Agent Basics
15808 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
15810 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
15811 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
15812 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
15813 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
15815 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
15816 connected to the net continuously.
15818 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
15819 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
15821 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
15826 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
15827 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
15828 already fetched while in this mode.
15831 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
15832 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
15833 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
15834 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
15835 Source Specifiers}).
15838 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
15839 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
15840 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
15841 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
15842 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
15845 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
15846 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
15847 then you read the news offline.
15850 And then you go to step 2.
15853 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
15859 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
15860 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
15861 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
15862 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
15863 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
15864 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
15867 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
15874 @node Agent Categories
15875 @subsection Agent Categories
15877 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
15878 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
15879 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
15880 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
15881 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
15882 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
15883 you're interested in the articles anyway.
15885 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
15886 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
15887 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
15888 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
15889 managing categories.
15892 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
15893 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
15894 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
15898 @node Category Syntax
15899 @subsubsection Category Syntax
15901 A category consists of two things.
15905 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
15906 are eligible for downloading; and
15909 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
15910 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
15911 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
15914 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
15915 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
15916 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
15917 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
15919 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
15920 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
15921 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
15923 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
15924 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
15925 operators sprinkled in between.
15927 Perhaps some examples are in order.
15929 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
15930 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
15936 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
15937 short (for some value of ``short'').
15939 Here's a more complex predicate:
15948 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
15949 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
15952 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
15953 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
15954 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
15956 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
15957 you want to do, you can write your own.
15961 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
15962 lines; default 100.
15965 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
15966 lines; default 200.
15969 True iff the article has a download score less than
15970 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
15973 True iff the article has a download score greater than
15974 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
15977 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
15978 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
15979 checksum and sees whether articles match.
15988 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
15989 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
15990 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
15993 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
15994 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
15995 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
15996 something along the lines of the following:
15999 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16000 "Say whether an article is old."
16001 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16002 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16005 with the predicate then defined as:
16008 (not my-article-old-p)
16011 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16012 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16013 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
16014 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
16017 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16018 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16019 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16022 and simply specify your predicate as:
16028 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16029 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16030 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16031 just don't give a damn.
16033 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16034 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16035 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16036 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16037 parameters like so:
16040 (agent-predicate . short)
16043 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16044 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16045 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16047 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16050 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16053 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16054 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16055 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16058 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16059 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16060 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16061 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16062 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16063 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16065 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16066 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16067 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16068 if it's to be specific to that group.
16070 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16077 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16078 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16084 Category specification
16088 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16094 Group Parameter specification
16097 (agent-score ("from"
16098 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16103 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16109 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16116 Category specification
16119 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16125 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16129 Group Parameter specification
16132 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16135 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16140 Use @code{normal} score files
16142 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16143 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16144 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16145 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16147 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16148 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16149 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16150 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16154 Category Specification
16161 Group Parameter specification
16164 (agent-score . file)
16169 @node Category Buffer
16170 @subsubsection Category Buffer
16172 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
16173 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
16174 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
16176 The following commands are available in this buffer:
16180 @kindex q (Category)
16181 @findex gnus-category-exit
16182 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
16185 @kindex k (Category)
16186 @findex gnus-category-kill
16187 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
16190 @kindex c (Category)
16191 @findex gnus-category-copy
16192 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
16195 @kindex a (Category)
16196 @findex gnus-category-add
16197 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
16200 @kindex p (Category)
16201 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
16202 Edit the predicate of the current category
16203 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
16206 @kindex g (Category)
16207 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
16208 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
16209 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
16212 @kindex s (Category)
16213 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
16214 Edit the download score rule of the current category
16215 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
16218 @kindex l (Category)
16219 @findex gnus-category-list
16220 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
16224 @node Category Variables
16225 @subsubsection Category Variables
16228 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
16229 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
16230 Hook run in category buffers.
16232 @item gnus-category-line-format
16233 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
16234 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
16235 Variables}). Valid elements are:
16239 The name of the category.
16242 The number of groups in the category.
16245 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
16246 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
16247 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
16249 @item gnus-agent-short-article
16250 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
16251 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
16253 @item gnus-agent-long-article
16254 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
16255 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
16257 @item gnus-agent-low-score
16258 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
16259 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
16262 @item gnus-agent-high-score
16263 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
16264 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
16270 @node Agent Commands
16271 @subsection Agent Commands
16273 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
16274 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
16275 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
16279 * Group Agent Commands::
16280 * Summary Agent Commands::
16281 * Server Agent Commands::
16284 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
16285 following incantation:
16287 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
16289 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
16294 @node Group Agent Commands
16295 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
16299 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
16300 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
16301 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
16302 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
16305 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
16306 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
16307 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
16310 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
16311 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
16312 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
16313 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
16316 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
16317 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
16318 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
16319 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
16322 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
16323 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
16324 Add the current group to an Agent category
16325 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
16326 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16329 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
16330 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
16331 Remove the current group from its category, if any
16332 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
16333 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16336 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
16337 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16338 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
16344 @node Summary Agent Commands
16345 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
16349 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
16350 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
16351 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
16354 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
16355 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
16356 Remove the downloading mark from the article
16357 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
16360 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
16361 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
16362 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
16365 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
16366 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
16367 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
16370 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
16371 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
16372 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
16373 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
16378 @node Server Agent Commands
16379 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
16383 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
16384 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
16385 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
16386 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
16389 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
16390 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
16391 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
16392 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
16398 @subsection Agent Expiry
16400 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
16401 @findex gnus-agent-expire
16402 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
16403 @cindex Agent expiry
16404 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
16407 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
16408 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
16409 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
16410 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
16411 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
16412 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
16414 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
16415 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
16416 expiry in different groups.
16419 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
16425 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
16426 method---it must always match all groups.
16428 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
16429 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
16430 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
16431 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
16432 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
16435 @node Agent and IMAP
16436 @subsection Agent and IMAP
16438 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
16439 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
16440 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
16441 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
16443 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
16444 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
16445 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
16446 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
16448 Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
16449 Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
16450 you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these
16451 with the server. This behavior is customizable with
16452 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
16454 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16455 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
16456 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
16457 default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
16458 you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
16459 value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
16461 If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
16462 re-connect, this can be done manually with the
16463 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
16464 in the group buffer by default.
16466 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
16467 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
16472 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
16475 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
16479 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
16480 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
16481 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
16482 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
16483 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
16484 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
16485 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
16486 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
16489 @node Outgoing Messages
16490 @subsection Outgoing Messages
16492 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
16493 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
16494 after posting, and edit them at will.
16496 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
16497 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
16498 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
16499 messages in the draft group.
16503 @node Agent Variables
16504 @subsection Agent Variables
16507 @item gnus-agent-directory
16508 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
16509 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
16510 @file{~/News/agent/}.
16512 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
16513 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
16514 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
16515 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
16516 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
16519 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
16520 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
16521 Hook run when connecting to the network.
16523 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
16524 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
16525 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
16527 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
16528 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
16529 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
16531 @item gnus-agent-cache
16532 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
16533 Variable to control whether use the locally stored NOV and articles when
16536 @item gnus-agent-go-online
16537 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
16538 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
16539 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
16540 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
16541 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
16542 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
16548 @node Example Setup
16549 @subsection Example Setup
16551 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
16552 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
16553 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
16556 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
16557 ;;; from your ISP's server.
16558 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
16560 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
16561 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
16562 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
16564 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
16565 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
16567 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
16571 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
16572 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
16575 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
16576 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
16577 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
16578 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
16579 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
16582 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
16583 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
16584 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
16585 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
16586 back all the killed groups.)
16588 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
16589 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
16590 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
16593 @node Batching Agents
16594 @subsection Batching Agents
16596 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
16597 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
16598 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
16602 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
16606 @node Agent Caveats
16607 @subsection Agent Caveats
16609 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
16610 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
16614 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
16618 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
16620 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
16624 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
16625 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP and also uses the
16626 locally stored articles.
16633 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
16634 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
16635 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
16638 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
16639 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
16640 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
16641 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
16642 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
16644 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
16645 before generating the summary buffer.
16647 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
16648 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
16649 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
16651 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
16652 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
16653 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
16654 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
16657 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
16658 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
16659 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
16660 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
16661 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
16662 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
16663 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
16664 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
16665 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
16666 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
16667 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
16668 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
16669 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
16670 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
16671 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
16672 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
16673 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
16677 @node Summary Score Commands
16678 @section Summary Score Commands
16679 @cindex score commands
16681 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
16682 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
16683 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
16684 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
16685 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
16687 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
16688 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
16689 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
16690 score file the current one.
16692 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
16697 @kindex V s (Summary)
16698 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
16699 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
16702 @kindex V S (Summary)
16703 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
16704 Display the score of the current article
16705 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
16708 @kindex V t (Summary)
16709 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
16710 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
16711 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
16714 @kindex V R (Summary)
16715 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
16716 Run the current summary through the scoring process
16717 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
16718 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
16719 effect you're having.
16722 @kindex V c (Summary)
16723 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
16724 Make a different score file the current
16725 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
16728 @kindex V e (Summary)
16729 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
16730 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
16731 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
16735 @kindex V f (Summary)
16736 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
16737 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
16738 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
16741 @kindex V F (Summary)
16742 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
16743 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
16744 after editing score files.
16747 @kindex V C (Summary)
16748 @findex gnus-score-customize
16749 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
16750 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
16754 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
16759 @kindex V m (Summary)
16760 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
16761 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
16762 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
16765 @kindex V x (Summary)
16766 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
16767 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
16768 expunge all articles below this score
16769 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
16772 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
16773 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
16776 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
16777 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
16781 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
16782 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
16784 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
16785 keys are available:
16789 Score on the author name.
16792 Score on the subject line.
16795 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
16798 Score on the @code{References} line.
16804 Score on the number of lines.
16807 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
16810 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
16811 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
16812 @file{ADAPT} files.)
16821 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
16827 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
16828 what headers you are scoring on.
16840 Substring matching.
16843 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
16872 Greater than number.
16877 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
16878 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
16879 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
16883 Temporary score entry.
16886 Permanent score entry.
16889 Immediately scoring.
16894 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
16895 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
16896 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
16897 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
16899 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
16900 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
16901 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
16902 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
16903 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
16905 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
16906 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
16907 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
16908 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
16909 current score file.
16911 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
16912 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
16913 pretend they are keymaps or not.
16916 @node Group Score Commands
16917 @section Group Score Commands
16918 @cindex group score commands
16920 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
16925 @kindex W f (Group)
16926 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
16927 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
16928 all the time. This command will flush the cache
16929 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
16933 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
16935 @findex gnus-batch-score
16936 @cindex batch scoring
16938 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
16942 @node Score Variables
16943 @section Score Variables
16944 @cindex score variables
16948 @item gnus-use-scoring
16949 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
16950 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
16951 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
16953 @item gnus-kill-killed
16954 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
16955 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
16956 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
16957 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
16958 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
16959 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
16960 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
16962 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
16963 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
16964 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
16965 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
16966 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
16968 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
16969 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
16970 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
16971 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
16973 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16974 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16975 @cindex score cache
16976 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
16977 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
16978 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
16979 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
16980 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
16981 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
16984 @item gnus-save-score
16985 @vindex gnus-save-score
16986 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
16987 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
16988 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
16990 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
16991 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
16992 across group visits.
16994 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16995 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16996 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
16997 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
16998 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
16999 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17000 manually entered data.
17002 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17003 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17004 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17006 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17007 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17008 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17009 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17010 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17011 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17013 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17014 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17015 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17016 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17018 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17019 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17020 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17021 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17023 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17024 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17025 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17026 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17028 Predefined functions available are:
17031 @item gnus-score-find-single
17032 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17033 Only apply the group's own score file.
17035 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17036 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17037 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17038 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17039 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
17040 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
17041 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
17042 then a regexp match is done.
17044 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
17045 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
17047 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
17048 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
17049 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
17050 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
17052 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17053 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17054 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
17055 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
17056 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
17060 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
17061 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
17062 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
17063 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
17064 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
17065 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
17066 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
17069 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
17070 overall score file, you could use the value
17072 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
17073 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
17076 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
17077 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
17078 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
17079 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
17080 are expired. It's 7 by default.
17082 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17083 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17084 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
17085 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
17086 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
17087 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
17088 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
17089 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
17091 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17092 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17093 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
17095 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
17096 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
17097 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
17098 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
17099 threading---according to the current value of
17100 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
17101 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
17102 simplified in this manner.
17107 @node Score File Format
17108 @section Score File Format
17109 @cindex score file format
17111 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
17112 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
17113 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
17115 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
17119 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
17121 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
17123 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
17125 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
17130 (mark-and-expunge -10)
17134 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
17135 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
17136 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
17137 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
17141 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
17142 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
17144 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
17145 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
17146 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
17148 Six keys are supported by this alist:
17153 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
17154 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
17155 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
17156 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
17157 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
17158 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
17159 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
17160 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
17161 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
17162 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
17163 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
17164 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
17165 to articles that matches these score entries.
17167 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
17168 score entry has one to four elements.
17172 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
17173 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
17177 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
17178 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
17179 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
17180 is successful. If this element is not present, the
17181 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
17182 instead. This is 1000 by default.
17185 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
17186 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
17187 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
17188 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
17189 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
17192 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
17193 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
17194 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
17195 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
17198 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
17199 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
17200 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
17201 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
17202 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
17203 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
17204 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
17205 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
17206 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
17207 instead, if you feel like.
17210 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
17211 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
17213 These predicates are true if
17216 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
17219 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
17220 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
17227 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
17228 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
17229 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
17230 it's not. I think.)
17232 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
17233 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
17234 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
17235 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
17238 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
17239 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
17240 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
17241 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
17242 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
17243 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
17244 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
17248 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
17249 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
17250 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
17251 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
17252 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
17253 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
17254 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
17255 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
17258 @item Head, Body, All
17259 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
17263 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
17264 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
17265 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
17266 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
17267 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
17268 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
17269 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
17273 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
17274 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
17275 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
17276 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
17277 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
17278 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
17279 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
17280 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
17281 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
17282 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
17283 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
17287 @cindex Score File Atoms
17289 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17290 lower than this number will be marked as read.
17293 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17294 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
17296 @item mark-and-expunge
17297 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17298 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
17301 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
17302 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
17303 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
17304 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
17305 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
17308 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
17309 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
17312 @item exclude-files
17313 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
17314 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
17318 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
17319 ignored when handling global score files.
17322 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
17323 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
17324 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
17325 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
17328 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
17329 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
17330 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
17331 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
17333 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
17337 (mark-and-expunge -100)
17340 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
17341 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
17342 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
17343 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
17344 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
17346 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
17347 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
17348 scoring rules exist.
17351 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
17352 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
17353 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
17354 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
17355 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
17356 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
17357 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17358 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
17359 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
17360 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
17361 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
17365 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
17366 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
17367 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
17368 file for a number of groups.
17371 @cindex local variables
17372 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
17373 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
17374 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
17375 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
17376 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
17380 @node Score File Editing
17381 @section Score File Editing
17383 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
17384 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
17385 with a mode for that.
17387 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
17388 additional commands:
17393 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
17394 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
17395 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
17396 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
17399 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
17400 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
17401 Insert the current date in numerical format
17402 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
17403 you were wondering.
17406 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
17407 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
17408 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
17409 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
17410 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
17415 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
17417 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
17418 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
17420 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
17421 e} to begin editing score files.
17424 @node Adaptive Scoring
17425 @section Adaptive Scoring
17426 @cindex adaptive scoring
17428 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
17429 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
17430 stupidity, to be precise.
17432 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
17433 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
17434 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
17435 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
17436 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17437 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
17438 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
17439 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
17440 variable to @code{(word line)}.
17442 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
17443 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
17444 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
17445 might look something like this:
17448 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
17449 '((gnus-unread-mark)
17450 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
17451 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
17452 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
17453 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
17454 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
17455 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
17456 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
17457 (gnus-ancient-mark)
17458 (gnus-low-score-mark)
17459 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
17462 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
17463 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
17464 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
17465 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
17466 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
17467 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
17470 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
17471 will be applied to each article.
17473 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
17474 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
17475 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
17476 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
17478 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
17479 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
17480 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
17481 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
17483 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
17484 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
17485 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
17486 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
17488 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
17489 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
17490 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
17491 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
17492 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
17493 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
17495 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
17496 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
17497 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
17498 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
17499 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
17500 aspirins afterwards.)
17502 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
17503 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
17504 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
17506 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
17507 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
17508 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
17510 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
17511 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
17512 let you use different rules in different groups.
17514 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
17515 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
17516 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
17519 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
17520 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
17521 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
17522 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
17523 the length of the match is less than
17524 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
17525 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
17528 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
17529 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
17530 headers. If you adapt on words, the
17531 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
17532 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
17535 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
17536 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
17537 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
17538 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
17539 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
17542 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
17543 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
17544 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
17545 score with 30 points.
17547 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
17548 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
17549 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
17550 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
17551 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
17553 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
17554 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
17555 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
17556 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
17557 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
17559 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
17560 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
17561 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
17562 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
17564 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
17565 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
17566 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
17567 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
17569 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
17570 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
17571 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
17572 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
17573 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
17575 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
17576 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
17577 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
17579 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
17580 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
17581 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
17582 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
17585 @node Home Score File
17586 @section Home Score File
17588 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
17589 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
17590 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
17591 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
17593 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
17594 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
17595 could perhaps use the same home score file.
17597 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
17598 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
17603 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
17607 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
17608 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
17612 A list. The elements in this list can be:
17616 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
17617 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
17620 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
17621 the home score file.
17624 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
17627 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
17632 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
17635 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17636 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
17639 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
17640 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
17642 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
17644 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17645 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
17648 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
17649 Other functions include
17652 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
17653 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
17654 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
17655 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
17659 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
17660 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
17661 their own home score files:
17664 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17665 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
17666 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
17667 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
17668 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
17671 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
17672 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
17673 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
17674 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
17675 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
17677 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
17678 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
17679 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
17680 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
17681 precedence over this variable.
17684 @node Followups To Yourself
17685 @section Followups To Yourself
17687 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
17688 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
17689 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
17690 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
17691 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
17692 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
17696 @item gnus-score-followup-article
17697 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
17698 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
17701 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
17702 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
17703 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
17707 @vindex message-sent-hook
17708 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
17709 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
17711 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
17715 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
17716 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
17720 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
17721 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
17724 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
17725 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
17730 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
17734 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
17735 is system-dependent.
17738 @node Scoring On Other Headers
17739 @section Scoring On Other Headers
17740 @cindex scoring on other headers
17742 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
17743 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
17744 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
17745 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
17746 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
17748 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
17749 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
17750 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
17751 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
17752 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
17754 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
17757 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
17758 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
17761 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
17762 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
17763 time if you have much mail.
17765 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
17766 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
17772 @section Scoring Tips
17773 @cindex scoring tips
17779 @cindex scoring crossposts
17780 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
17781 the @code{Xref} header.
17783 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
17786 @item Multiple crossposts
17787 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
17788 more than, say, 3 groups:
17791 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
17795 @item Matching on the body
17796 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
17797 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
17798 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
17799 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
17800 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
17801 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
17802 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
17805 @item Marking as read
17806 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
17807 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
17808 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
17812 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
17814 @item Negated character classes
17815 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
17816 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
17817 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
17821 @node Reverse Scoring
17822 @section Reverse Scoring
17823 @cindex reverse scoring
17825 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
17826 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
17827 like this in your score file:
17831 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
17836 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
17837 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
17840 @node Global Score Files
17841 @section Global Score Files
17842 @cindex global score files
17844 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
17845 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
17846 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
17848 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
17849 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
17850 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
17852 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
17853 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
17854 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
17855 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
17856 files are applicable to which group.
17858 To use the score file
17859 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
17860 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
17864 (setq gnus-global-score-files
17865 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
17866 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
17869 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
17871 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
17872 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
17873 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
17874 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
17876 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
17877 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
17879 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
17880 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
17881 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
17882 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
17883 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
17884 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
17886 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
17892 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
17894 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
17896 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
17898 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
17899 lowered out of existence.
17901 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
17902 articles completely.
17905 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
17906 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
17907 old articles for a long time.
17910 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
17911 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
17912 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
17913 holding our breath yet?
17917 @section Kill Files
17920 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
17921 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
17922 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
17924 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
17925 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
17926 files into score files.
17928 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
17929 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
17930 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
17931 that isn't a very good idea.
17933 Normal kill files look like this:
17936 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17937 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
17941 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
17942 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
17944 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
17945 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
17948 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
17953 @kindex M-k (Summary)
17954 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
17955 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
17958 @kindex M-K (Summary)
17959 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
17960 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
17963 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
17968 @kindex M-k (Group)
17969 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
17970 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
17973 @kindex M-K (Group)
17974 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
17975 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
17978 Kill file variables:
17981 @item gnus-kill-file-name
17982 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
17983 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
17984 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
17985 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
17986 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
17987 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
17989 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17990 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17991 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
17992 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
17995 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
17996 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
17997 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
17998 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
17999 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18000 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18001 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18002 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18003 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18005 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18006 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18007 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18012 @node Converting Kill Files
18013 @section Converting Kill Files
18015 @cindex converting kill files
18017 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18018 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18019 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18022 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18023 You can fetch it from
18024 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18026 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18027 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18028 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
18036 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
18037 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
18038 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
18039 news articles generated every day.
18041 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
18042 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
18043 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
18044 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
18045 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
18046 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
18047 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
18048 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
18051 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
18052 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
18055 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
18056 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
18057 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
18058 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
18062 @node Using GroupLens
18063 @subsection Using GroupLens
18065 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
18067 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
18068 better bit in town at the moment.
18070 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
18074 @item gnus-use-grouplens
18075 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
18076 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
18077 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
18079 @item grouplens-pseudonym
18080 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
18081 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
18082 with the Better Bit Bureau.
18084 @item grouplens-newsgroups
18085 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
18086 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
18090 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
18091 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
18092 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
18093 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
18094 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
18095 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
18098 @node Rating Articles
18099 @subsection Rating Articles
18101 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
18102 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
18103 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
18104 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
18107 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
18112 @kindex r (GroupLens)
18113 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
18114 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
18117 @kindex k (GroupLens)
18118 @findex grouplens-score-thread
18119 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
18120 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
18121 threads in rec.humor.
18125 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
18126 the score of the article you're reading.
18131 @kindex n (GroupLens)
18132 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
18133 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
18136 @kindex , (GroupLens)
18137 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
18138 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
18142 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
18143 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
18146 @node Displaying Predictions
18147 @subsection Displaying Predictions
18149 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
18150 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
18151 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
18152 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
18153 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
18155 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
18156 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
18157 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
18158 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
18159 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
18160 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
18161 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
18162 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
18163 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
18164 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
18165 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
18166 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
18167 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
18169 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
18170 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
18171 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
18172 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
18174 The following are valid values for that variable.
18177 @item prediction-spot
18178 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
18181 @item confidence-interval
18182 A numeric confidence interval.
18184 @item prediction-bar
18185 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
18187 @item confidence-bar
18188 Numerical confidence.
18190 @item confidence-spot
18191 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
18193 @item prediction-num
18194 Plain-old numeric value.
18196 @item confidence-plus-minus
18197 Prediction +/- confidence.
18202 @node GroupLens Variables
18203 @subsection GroupLens Variables
18207 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
18208 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
18209 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
18210 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
18213 @item grouplens-bbb-host
18214 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
18217 @item grouplens-bbb-port
18218 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
18220 @item grouplens-score-offset
18221 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
18222 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
18225 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
18226 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
18227 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
18232 @node Advanced Scoring
18233 @section Advanced Scoring
18235 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
18236 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
18237 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
18238 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
18239 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
18241 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
18245 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
18246 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
18247 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
18251 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
18252 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
18254 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
18255 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
18256 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
18257 non-@code{nil} value.
18259 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
18260 operator, and various match operators.
18267 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18268 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
18269 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
18274 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18275 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
18276 then this operator will return @code{false}.
18281 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
18282 logical negation of the value of its argument.
18286 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
18287 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
18288 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
18289 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
18290 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
18291 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
18292 the ancestry you want to go.
18294 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
18295 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
18296 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
18297 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
18298 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
18301 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
18302 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
18304 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
18305 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
18308 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
18309 when he's talking about Gnus:
18313 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18314 ("subject" "Gnus"))
18320 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
18324 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18331 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
18332 really don't want to read what he's written:
18336 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18337 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
18341 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
18342 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
18343 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
18350 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
18351 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
18352 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
18353 ("body" "white.*socks"))
18357 The possibilities are endless.
18360 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
18361 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
18363 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
18364 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
18365 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
18366 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
18367 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
18368 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
18369 @samp{subject}) first.
18371 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
18372 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
18383 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
18384 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
18390 ("subject" "Gnus")))
18397 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
18398 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
18403 @section Score Decays
18404 @cindex score decays
18407 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
18408 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
18409 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
18410 use them in any sensible way.
18412 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
18413 @findex gnus-decay-score
18414 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
18415 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
18416 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
18417 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
18418 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
18419 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
18420 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
18421 definition of that function:
18424 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
18426 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
18427 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
18430 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
18432 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
18434 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
18437 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
18438 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
18439 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
18440 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
18444 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
18447 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
18450 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
18454 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
18455 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
18456 the new score, which should be an integer.
18458 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
18459 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
18464 @include message.texi
18465 @chapter Emacs MIME
18466 @include emacs-mime.texi
18468 @include sieve.texi
18476 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
18477 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
18478 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
18479 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
18480 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
18481 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
18482 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
18483 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
18484 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
18485 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
18486 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
18487 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
18488 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
18489 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
18490 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
18491 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
18492 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
18493 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
18494 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
18498 @node Process/Prefix
18499 @section Process/Prefix
18500 @cindex process/prefix convention
18502 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
18503 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
18505 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
18506 command to be performed on.
18510 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
18511 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
18512 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
18513 with the current one.
18515 @vindex transient-mark-mode
18516 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
18517 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
18519 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
18520 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
18523 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
18524 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
18526 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
18529 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
18530 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
18531 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
18532 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
18534 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
18535 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
18536 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
18537 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
18538 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
18539 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
18540 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
18541 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
18543 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
18544 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
18545 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
18546 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
18547 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
18551 @section Interactive
18552 @cindex interaction
18556 @item gnus-novice-user
18557 @vindex gnus-novice-user
18558 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
18559 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
18560 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
18561 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
18564 @item gnus-expert-user
18565 @vindex gnus-expert-user
18566 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
18567 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
18568 matter how strange.
18570 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
18571 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
18572 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
18573 is @code{t} by default.
18575 @item gnus-interactive-exit
18576 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
18577 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18582 @node Symbolic Prefixes
18583 @section Symbolic Prefixes
18584 @cindex symbolic prefixes
18586 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
18587 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
18588 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
18589 rule of 900 to the current article.
18591 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
18592 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
18593 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
18594 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
18595 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
18596 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
18597 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
18599 @kindex M-i (Summary)
18600 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
18601 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
18602 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
18603 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
18604 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
18605 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
18606 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
18607 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
18609 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
18610 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
18611 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
18613 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
18617 @node Formatting Variables
18618 @section Formatting Variables
18619 @cindex formatting variables
18621 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
18622 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
18623 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
18624 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
18625 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
18628 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
18629 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
18630 lots of percentages everywhere.
18633 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
18634 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
18635 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
18636 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
18637 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
18638 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
18639 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
18640 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
18643 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
18644 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
18645 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
18646 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
18647 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
18648 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
18649 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
18650 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
18652 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
18653 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
18655 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
18656 @findex gnus-update-format
18657 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
18658 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
18659 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
18660 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
18664 @node Formatting Basics
18665 @subsection Formatting Basics
18667 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
18668 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
18669 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
18671 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
18672 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
18673 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
18674 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
18675 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
18678 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
18679 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
18680 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
18681 less than 4 characters wide.
18683 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
18684 @samp{%&user-date;}.
18687 @node Mode Line Formatting
18688 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
18690 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
18691 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
18692 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
18693 with the following two differences:
18698 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
18701 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
18702 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
18703 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
18704 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
18705 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
18706 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
18707 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
18712 @node Advanced Formatting
18713 @subsection Advanced Formatting
18715 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
18716 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
18717 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
18718 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
18720 These are the valid modifiers:
18725 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
18729 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
18734 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
18737 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
18742 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
18745 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
18748 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
18751 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
18757 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
18762 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
18763 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
18764 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
18765 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
18766 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
18767 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
18768 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
18770 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
18771 last operation, padding.
18773 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
18774 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
18775 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
18776 @xref{Compilation}.
18779 @node User-Defined Specs
18780 @subsection User-Defined Specs
18782 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
18783 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
18784 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
18785 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
18786 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
18787 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
18788 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
18789 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
18790 should protect against that.
18792 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
18793 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
18795 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
18796 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
18797 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
18798 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
18802 @node Formatting Fonts
18803 @subsection Formatting Fonts
18805 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
18806 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
18807 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
18808 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
18811 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
18812 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
18813 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
18814 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
18815 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
18816 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
18818 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
18819 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
18820 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
18821 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
18822 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
18823 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
18824 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
18825 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
18827 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
18830 ;; Create three face types.
18831 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
18832 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
18834 ;; We want the article count to be in
18835 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
18836 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
18837 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
18839 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
18840 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
18842 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
18843 (setq gnus-group-line-format
18844 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
18847 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
18848 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
18850 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
18851 mode-line variables.
18853 @node Positioning Point
18854 @subsection Positioning Point
18856 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
18857 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
18858 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
18860 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
18862 @findex gnus-goto-colon
18863 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
18864 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
18866 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
18867 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
18868 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
18873 @subsection Tabulation
18875 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
18876 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
18877 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
18878 about lining up the following text afterwards.
18880 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
18881 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
18883 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18884 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
18885 This is the soft tabulator.
18887 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18888 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
18889 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
18892 @node Wide Characters
18893 @subsection Wide Characters
18895 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
18896 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
18897 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
18899 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
18900 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
18901 these coutries, that's not true.
18903 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
18904 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
18905 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
18906 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
18910 @node Window Layout
18911 @section Window Layout
18912 @cindex window layout
18914 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
18916 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
18917 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
18918 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
18919 @code{t} by default.
18921 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
18922 glitches. Use at your own peril.
18924 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
18925 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
18926 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
18929 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
18930 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
18931 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18935 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
18936 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
18937 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
18938 possible names is listed below.
18940 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
18941 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
18944 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18948 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
18949 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
18950 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
18951 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
18952 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
18953 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
18954 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
18955 size spec per split.
18957 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
18958 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
18959 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
18960 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
18961 present) gets focus.
18963 Here's a more complicated example:
18966 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
18967 (summary 0.25 point)
18968 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
18972 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
18973 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
18974 occupy, not a percentage.
18976 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
18977 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
18978 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
18979 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
18980 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
18983 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
18986 (article (horizontal 1.0
18991 (summary 0.25 point)
18996 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
18997 @code{horizontal} thingie?
18999 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19000 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19001 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19002 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19003 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19005 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19006 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19007 lines from the splits.
19009 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19013 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19014 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19015 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19016 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19017 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19018 size = number | frame-params
19019 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19022 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19023 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19024 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19025 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19027 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19028 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19029 @cindex window height
19030 @cindex window width
19031 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
19032 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
19033 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
19034 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
19035 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
19036 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
19038 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
19039 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
19040 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
19041 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
19043 @findex gnus-configure-frame
19044 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
19045 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
19046 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
19047 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
19048 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
19049 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
19050 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
19051 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
19052 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
19053 configuration list.
19056 (gnus-configure-frame
19060 (article 0.3 point))
19068 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
19069 @code{frame} split:
19072 (gnus-configure-frame
19075 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
19077 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
19078 (user-position . t)
19079 (left . -1) (top . 1))
19084 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
19085 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
19086 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
19087 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
19088 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
19089 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
19090 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
19091 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
19093 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
19094 be found in its default value.
19096 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
19097 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
19098 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
19102 (message (horizontal 1.0
19103 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
19105 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
19110 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
19111 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
19112 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
19117 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
19118 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
19119 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
19120 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
19121 (name . "Message"))
19122 (message 1.0 point))))
19125 @findex gnus-add-configuration
19126 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
19127 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
19128 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
19129 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
19132 (gnus-add-configuration
19133 '(article (vertical 1.0
19135 (summary .25 point)
19139 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
19140 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
19141 Gnus has been loaded.
19143 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
19144 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
19145 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
19146 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
19147 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
19149 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
19150 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
19151 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
19154 @subsection Example Window Configurations
19158 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
19159 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
19174 (gnus-add-configuration
19177 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19179 (summary 0.16 point)
19182 (gnus-add-configuration
19185 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19186 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
19192 @node Faces and Fonts
19193 @section Faces and Fonts
19198 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
19199 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
19200 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
19205 @section Compilation
19206 @cindex compilation
19207 @cindex byte-compilation
19209 @findex gnus-compile
19211 Remember all those line format specification variables?
19212 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
19213 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
19214 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
19215 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
19216 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
19219 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
19220 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
19221 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
19222 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
19223 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
19224 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
19225 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
19229 @section Mode Lines
19232 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
19233 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
19234 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
19235 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
19236 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
19237 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
19238 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
19241 @cindex display-time
19243 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
19244 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
19245 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
19246 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
19247 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
19248 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
19249 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
19250 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
19253 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
19255 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
19256 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
19258 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
19259 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
19260 (length display-time-string)))))
19263 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
19264 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
19265 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
19266 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
19267 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
19270 @node Highlighting and Menus
19271 @section Highlighting and Menus
19273 @cindex highlighting
19276 @vindex gnus-visual
19277 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
19278 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
19279 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
19282 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
19283 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
19286 @item group-highlight
19287 Do highlights in the group buffer.
19288 @item summary-highlight
19289 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
19290 @item article-highlight
19291 Do highlights in the article buffer.
19293 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
19295 Create menus in the group buffer.
19297 Create menus in the summary buffers.
19299 Create menus in the article buffer.
19301 Create menus in the browse buffer.
19303 Create menus in the server buffer.
19305 Create menus in the score buffers.
19307 Create menus in all buffers.
19310 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
19311 buffers, you could say something like:
19314 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
19317 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
19320 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
19323 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
19324 in all Gnus buffers.
19326 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
19329 @item gnus-mouse-face
19330 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
19331 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
19332 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
19336 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
19340 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
19341 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
19342 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
19344 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
19345 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
19346 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
19348 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
19349 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
19350 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
19352 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
19353 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
19354 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
19356 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
19357 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
19358 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
19360 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
19361 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
19362 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
19373 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
19374 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
19375 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
19376 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
19377 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
19381 @vindex gnus-carpal
19382 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
19383 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
19384 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
19389 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19390 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19391 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
19393 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
19394 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
19395 Face used on buttons.
19397 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
19398 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
19399 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
19401 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
19402 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
19403 Buttons in the group buffer.
19405 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
19406 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
19407 Buttons in the summary buffer.
19409 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
19410 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
19411 Buttons in the server buffer.
19413 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
19414 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
19415 Buttons in the browse buffer.
19418 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
19419 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
19420 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
19428 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
19429 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
19430 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
19431 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
19432 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
19434 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
19435 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
19436 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
19438 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
19439 been idle for thirty minutes:
19442 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
19445 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
19449 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
19452 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
19453 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
19454 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
19456 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
19457 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
19458 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
19459 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
19461 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
19462 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
19463 @var{idle} minutes.
19465 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
19466 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
19469 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
19470 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
19471 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
19473 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
19474 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
19475 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
19476 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
19478 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
19479 your @file{.gnus} file:
19481 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
19483 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
19486 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
19487 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
19488 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
19489 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
19490 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
19491 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
19492 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
19493 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
19494 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
19495 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
19496 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
19498 @findex gnus-demon-init
19499 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
19500 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
19501 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
19502 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
19503 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
19505 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
19506 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
19507 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
19516 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
19517 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
19519 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
19520 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
19521 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
19522 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
19525 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
19526 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
19527 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
19528 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
19530 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
19531 this will make spam disappear.
19533 There are some variables to customize, of course:
19536 @item gnus-use-nocem
19537 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
19538 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
19541 @item gnus-nocem-groups
19542 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
19543 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
19544 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
19545 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
19547 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
19548 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
19549 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
19550 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
19551 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
19552 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
19554 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
19555 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
19557 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
19558 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
19559 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
19560 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
19561 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
19562 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
19563 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
19564 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
19565 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
19566 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
19568 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
19569 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
19572 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
19575 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
19576 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
19579 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
19582 The specs are applied left-to-right.
19585 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
19586 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
19588 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
19589 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
19590 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
19591 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
19593 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
19594 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
19597 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
19599 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
19607 This might be dangerous, though.
19609 @item gnus-nocem-directory
19610 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
19611 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
19612 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
19614 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19615 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19616 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
19617 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
19618 might then see old spam.
19620 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
19621 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
19622 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
19623 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
19624 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
19627 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19628 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19629 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
19630 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
19634 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
19635 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
19636 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
19637 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
19644 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
19645 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
19646 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
19648 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
19649 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
19650 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
19651 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
19652 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
19653 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
19654 @code{undo} function.
19656 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
19657 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
19658 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
19659 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
19660 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
19661 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
19662 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
19663 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
19664 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
19665 never be totally undoable.
19667 @findex gnus-undo-mode
19668 @vindex gnus-use-undo
19670 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
19671 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
19672 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
19673 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
19677 @node Predicate Specifiers
19678 @section Predicate Specifiers
19679 @cindex predicate specifiers
19681 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
19682 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
19683 to type all that much.
19685 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
19690 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
19691 gnus-article-unread-p)
19694 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
19695 functions all take one parameter.
19697 @findex gnus-make-predicate
19698 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
19699 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
19700 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
19705 @section Moderation
19708 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
19709 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
19710 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
19713 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
19717 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
19720 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
19722 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
19727 You split your incoming mail by matching on
19728 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
19729 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
19732 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
19733 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
19736 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
19737 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
19741 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
19744 (setq gnus-moderated-list
19745 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
19749 @node Image Enhancements
19750 @section Image Enhancements
19752 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
19753 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
19756 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
19757 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
19758 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
19759 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
19760 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
19773 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
19774 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
19775 over your shoulder as you read news.
19778 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
19779 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
19780 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
19781 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
19782 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
19787 @subsubsection Picon Basics
19789 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
19798 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
19799 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
19800 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
19801 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
19802 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
19803 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
19804 @code{GIF} formats.
19807 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19808 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
19809 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
19810 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
19811 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
19813 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19814 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
19815 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
19816 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
19817 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
19818 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19820 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
19821 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
19824 @node Picon Requirements
19825 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
19827 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
19828 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
19829 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
19830 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
19832 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19833 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
19834 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
19835 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
19836 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
19837 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
19840 @subsubsection Easy Picons
19842 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
19843 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
19846 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
19847 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
19850 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
19851 containing the Picons databases.
19853 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
19856 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19857 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
19862 @subsubsection Hard Picons
19870 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
19871 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
19872 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
19873 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
19874 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
19879 @item gnus-picons-database
19880 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19881 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
19882 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
19883 subdirectories. This is only useful if
19884 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
19885 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
19887 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19888 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19889 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
19890 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
19891 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
19892 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
19893 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19895 @item gnus-picons-display-where
19896 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19897 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
19898 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
19899 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
19900 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
19901 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
19902 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
19904 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19905 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19906 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
19911 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
19912 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
19914 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
19915 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
19918 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19920 @item gnus-article-display-picons
19921 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
19922 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
19923 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
19925 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
19926 @findex gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
19927 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
19928 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the function name, not @code{xface})
19934 @node Picon Useless Configuration
19935 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
19943 The following variables offer further control over how things are
19944 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
19945 don't need to worry about.
19949 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
19950 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
19951 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19952 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
19954 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
19955 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
19956 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
19957 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
19959 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
19960 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
19961 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19962 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
19963 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
19965 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19966 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19967 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
19968 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
19969 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
19970 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
19971 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
19972 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
19974 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19975 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19976 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
19977 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
19978 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
19980 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19981 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19982 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
19983 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
19984 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
19985 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
19986 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
19988 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19989 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19990 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
19991 Defaults to @code{nil}.
19993 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
19994 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
19995 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
19996 Defaults to @code{t}.
19998 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
19999 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20000 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20001 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
20003 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
20004 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
20005 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
20007 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20008 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20009 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
20010 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
20012 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
20013 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
20015 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20016 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20017 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
20018 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
20019 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
20020 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
20021 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
20022 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
20033 @subsection Smileys
20038 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20043 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20044 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20046 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20047 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20050 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20053 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
20054 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20055 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20056 text and maps that to file names.
20058 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
20059 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
20060 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
20061 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
20062 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
20063 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
20065 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
20066 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
20068 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
20069 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
20070 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
20072 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20073 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
20077 @item smiley-data-directory
20078 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20079 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20081 @item smiley-flesh-color
20082 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
20083 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
20085 @item smiley-features-color
20086 @vindex smiley-features-color
20087 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20089 @item smiley-tongue-color
20090 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
20091 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
20093 @item smiley-circle-color
20094 @vindex smiley-circle-color
20095 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20097 @item smiley-mouse-face
20098 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
20099 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
20108 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20109 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20110 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20114 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20115 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20116 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20117 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20125 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20126 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20127 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20128 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20130 The variable that controls this is the
20131 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20132 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20133 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20134 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20135 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20137 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20138 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20139 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20140 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20143 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20144 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20145 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20146 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20147 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20148 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20149 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20150 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20152 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20155 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20156 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20158 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20159 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files
20160 in @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20161 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20162 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20163 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big.
20165 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a file as the parameter, and then
20166 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20167 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20169 Here's how you would typically use the former function. Put something
20170 like the folllowing in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20173 (setq message-required-news-headers
20174 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20175 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20178 Using the latter function would be something like this:
20181 (setq message-required-news-headers
20182 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20183 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20184 (gnus-x-face-from-file
20185 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
20190 @subsection Toolbar
20200 @item gnus-use-toolbar
20201 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
20202 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
20203 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
20204 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
20206 @item gnus-group-toolbar
20207 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
20208 The toolbar in the group buffer.
20210 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
20211 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
20212 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
20214 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20215 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20216 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
20222 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
20225 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20226 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20227 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
20228 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
20229 unusual directory structure.
20231 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20232 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20233 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
20234 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
20236 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20237 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20238 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
20239 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
20240 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
20241 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
20243 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20244 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20245 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
20259 @node Fuzzy Matching
20260 @section Fuzzy Matching
20261 @cindex fuzzy matching
20263 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
20264 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
20266 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
20267 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
20268 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
20270 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
20271 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
20272 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
20273 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
20274 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
20277 @node Thwarting Email Spam
20278 @section Thwarting Email Spam
20282 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20284 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
20285 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
20286 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
20287 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
20288 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
20289 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
20290 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
20291 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
20294 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
20295 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
20296 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
20297 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
20298 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
20299 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
20303 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
20304 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
20306 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
20307 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
20308 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
20309 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
20310 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
20311 part of the mail address.)
20314 (setq message-default-news-headers
20315 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
20318 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
20319 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
20324 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
20325 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
20326 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
20332 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
20333 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
20334 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
20335 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
20337 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
20338 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
20339 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
20340 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
20341 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
20342 your fancy split rule in this way:
20347 (to "larsi" "misc")
20351 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
20352 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
20353 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
20354 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
20355 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
20357 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
20358 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
20359 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
20360 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
20361 cosmic balance somewhat.
20363 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
20364 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
20365 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
20366 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
20369 @node Various Various
20370 @section Various Various
20376 @item gnus-home-directory
20377 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
20378 defaults to @file{~/}.
20380 @item gnus-directory
20381 @vindex gnus-directory
20382 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
20383 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
20384 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
20386 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
20387 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
20388 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
20389 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
20391 @item gnus-default-directory
20392 @vindex gnus-default-directory
20393 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
20394 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
20395 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
20396 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
20397 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
20398 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
20401 @vindex gnus-verbose
20402 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
20403 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
20404 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
20405 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
20406 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
20408 @item gnus-verbose-backends
20409 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
20410 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
20411 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
20413 @item nnheader-max-head-length
20414 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
20415 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
20416 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
20417 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
20418 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
20419 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
20420 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
20421 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
20422 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
20424 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
20425 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
20426 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
20427 read when doing the operation described above.
20429 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
20430 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
20432 @cindex invalid characters in file names
20433 @cindex characters in file names
20434 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
20435 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
20436 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
20439 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
20443 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
20444 Windows (phooey) systems.
20446 @item gnus-hidden-properties
20447 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
20448 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
20449 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
20450 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
20452 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
20453 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
20454 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
20455 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
20456 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
20458 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
20459 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
20460 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
20462 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
20463 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
20465 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
20466 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
20467 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
20468 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
20471 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
20479 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
20480 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
20482 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
20484 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
20490 Not because of victories @*
20493 but for the common sunshine,@*
20495 the largess of the spring.
20499 but for the day's work done@*
20500 as well as I was able;@*
20501 not for a seat upon the dais@*
20502 but at the common table.@*
20507 @chapter Appendices
20510 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
20511 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
20512 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
20513 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
20514 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
20515 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
20516 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
20517 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
20518 * Frequently Asked Questions::
20525 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
20527 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
20528 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
20529 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
20530 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
20531 @samp{xemacs-base}, and @samp{fsf-compat}.
20538 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
20539 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
20541 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
20542 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
20543 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
20544 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
20545 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
20547 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
20548 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
20549 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
20550 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
20551 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
20552 appropriate name, don't you think?)
20554 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
20555 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
20556 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
20557 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
20560 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
20561 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
20562 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
20563 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
20564 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
20565 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
20566 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
20567 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
20568 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
20572 @node Gnus Versions
20573 @subsection Gnus Versions
20575 @cindex September Gnus
20577 @cindex Quassia Gnus
20578 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
20582 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
20583 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
20584 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
20586 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
20587 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
20589 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
20590 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
20592 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
20593 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
20595 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
20596 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
20599 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
20601 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
20602 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
20603 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
20604 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
20605 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
20606 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
20609 @node Other Gnus Versions
20610 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
20613 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
20614 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
20615 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
20616 @sc{mime} capabilities.
20618 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
20619 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
20620 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
20621 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
20628 What's the point of Gnus?
20630 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
20631 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
20632 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
20633 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
20634 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
20635 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
20636 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
20637 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
20638 keep track of millions of people who post?
20640 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
20641 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
20642 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
20643 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
20644 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
20645 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
20646 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
20647 every one of you to explore and invent.
20649 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
20650 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
20653 @node Compatibility
20654 @subsection Compatibility
20656 @cindex compatibility
20657 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
20658 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
20659 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
20664 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
20668 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
20671 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
20674 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
20675 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
20676 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
20677 important variables have their values copied into their global
20678 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
20679 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
20681 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
20682 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
20683 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
20684 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
20685 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
20689 @cindex highlighting
20690 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
20691 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
20692 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
20693 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
20694 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
20695 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
20698 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
20699 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
20700 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
20701 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
20703 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
20704 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
20705 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
20706 to stop doing it the old way.
20708 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
20710 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
20712 @cindex reporting bugs
20714 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
20715 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
20716 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
20718 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
20719 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
20720 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
20721 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
20726 @subsection Conformity
20728 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
20729 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
20737 There are no known breaches of this standard.
20741 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
20743 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
20744 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
20745 We do have some breaches to this one.
20751 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
20752 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
20753 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
20754 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
20755 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
20760 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
20761 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
20762 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
20763 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
20765 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
20767 All the various MIME RFCs are supported.
20769 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
20770 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
20772 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
20775 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
20776 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
20777 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-MIME aware PGP
20778 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
20779 decoding (verification and decryption).
20781 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
20782 RFC 2015 (superceded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
20783 1991) describes the MIME-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
20784 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
20786 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
20787 RFC 2633 describes the S/MIME format.
20789 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
20790 RFC 1730 is IMAP version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (IMAP 4
20791 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for IMAP. RFC
20792 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for IMAP. RFC 2359
20793 describes a IMAP protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
20794 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with IMAP. RFC 1731 describes the
20795 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for IMAP.
20799 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
20800 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
20805 @subsection Emacsen
20811 Gnus should work on :
20819 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
20823 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
20824 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
20827 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
20828 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
20829 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
20833 @node Gnus Development
20834 @subsection Gnus Development
20836 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
20837 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
20838 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
20839 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
20840 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
20841 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
20842 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
20843 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
20845 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
20846 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
20847 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
20848 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
20849 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
20852 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
20853 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
20854 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
20855 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
20856 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
20858 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
20859 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
20860 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
20861 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
20862 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
20863 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
20864 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
20865 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
20866 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
20867 can't be assumed to do so.
20872 @subsection Contributors
20873 @cindex contributors
20875 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
20876 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
20877 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
20878 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
20879 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
20880 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
20881 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
20882 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
20883 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
20884 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
20886 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
20892 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
20895 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
20896 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
20897 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
20898 functionality and stuff.
20901 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
20902 well as numerous other things).
20905 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
20908 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
20911 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
20914 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
20917 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
20918 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
20921 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
20924 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
20925 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
20928 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
20931 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
20934 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
20937 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
20940 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
20941 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
20944 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
20947 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
20950 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
20953 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
20957 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
20960 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
20963 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
20966 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
20967 well as autoconf support.
20971 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
20972 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
20974 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
20983 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
20987 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
20997 Alexei V. Barantsev,
21012 Massimo Campostrini,
21017 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
21018 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
21022 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
21025 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
21031 Michael Welsh Duggan,
21036 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
21040 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
21048 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
21050 Michelangelo Grigni,
21054 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
21056 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
21058 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
21065 François Felix Ingrand,
21066 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
21067 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
21069 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
21080 Peter Skov Knudsen,
21081 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
21083 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
21084 Thor Kristoffersen,
21087 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
21105 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
21106 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
21113 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
21118 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
21122 John McClary Prevost,
21128 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
21133 Christian von Roques,
21136 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
21143 Philippe Schnoebelen,
21145 Randal L. Schwartz,
21159 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
21164 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
21180 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
21185 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
21186 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
21187 (550kB and counting).
21189 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
21192 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
21193 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
21197 @subsection New Features
21198 @cindex new features
21201 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
21202 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
21203 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
21204 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
21205 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
21208 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
21209 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
21210 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
21213 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
21215 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
21220 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
21221 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
21224 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
21225 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
21228 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
21231 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
21232 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
21233 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
21236 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
21237 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
21238 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
21239 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
21242 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
21243 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
21246 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
21247 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
21248 (@pxref{The Active File}).
21251 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
21252 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
21255 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
21256 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
21257 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
21260 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
21261 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
21262 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
21265 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
21266 the @file{.emacs} file.
21269 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
21270 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
21273 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
21274 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
21277 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
21278 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
21281 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
21282 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
21285 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
21286 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
21289 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
21292 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
21293 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
21296 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
21297 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
21300 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
21301 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
21304 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
21307 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
21308 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
21311 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
21315 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
21319 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
21320 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
21323 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
21329 @node September Gnus
21330 @subsubsection September Gnus
21334 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
21338 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
21343 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
21344 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
21348 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
21349 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
21353 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
21357 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
21358 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
21361 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
21365 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
21368 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
21371 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
21374 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
21378 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
21379 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
21382 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
21386 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
21390 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
21394 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
21398 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
21401 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
21402 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
21405 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
21409 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
21410 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
21413 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
21416 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
21417 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
21418 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
21421 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
21425 The Gnus cache is much faster.
21428 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
21432 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
21433 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
21436 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
21437 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
21440 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
21441 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
21444 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
21445 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
21446 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
21449 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
21450 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
21453 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
21456 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
21459 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
21462 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
21465 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
21466 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
21469 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
21473 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
21476 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
21481 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
21484 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
21488 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
21491 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
21495 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
21498 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
21501 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
21502 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
21505 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
21506 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
21510 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
21511 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
21514 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
21518 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
21519 buffer to allow easier treatment.
21522 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
21525 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
21529 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
21533 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
21534 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
21537 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
21541 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
21542 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
21545 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
21546 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
21549 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
21553 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
21556 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
21559 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
21565 @subsubsection Red Gnus
21567 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
21571 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
21578 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
21581 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
21582 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
21585 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
21586 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
21590 Article washing status can be displayed in the
21591 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
21594 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
21597 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
21598 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
21601 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
21605 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
21606 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
21610 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
21611 Server Internals}).
21614 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
21618 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
21621 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
21622 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
21625 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
21626 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
21627 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
21630 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
21631 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
21634 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
21635 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
21638 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
21642 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
21643 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
21646 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
21647 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
21650 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
21654 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
21657 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
21661 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
21662 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
21665 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
21666 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
21669 A new command for reading collections of documents
21670 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
21671 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
21674 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
21678 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
21679 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
21682 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
21683 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
21684 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
21687 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
21688 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
21692 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
21696 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
21700 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
21705 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
21709 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
21713 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
21714 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
21717 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
21723 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
21725 New features in Gnus 5.6:
21730 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
21731 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
21732 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
21735 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
21736 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
21737 group, which is created automatically.
21740 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
21744 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
21747 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
21748 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
21751 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
21755 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
21758 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
21759 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
21762 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
21765 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
21766 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
21769 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
21770 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
21773 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
21774 control over simplification.
21777 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
21780 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
21784 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
21787 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
21790 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
21791 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
21792 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
21795 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
21796 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
21799 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
21803 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
21804 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
21807 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
21808 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
21811 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
21815 A history of where mails have been split is available.
21818 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
21821 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
21822 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
21825 A new function for citing in Message has been
21826 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
21829 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
21832 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
21836 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
21837 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
21840 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
21841 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
21844 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
21847 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
21851 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
21852 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
21854 New features in Gnus 5.8:
21859 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
21860 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
21862 If you used procmail like in
21865 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
21866 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
21867 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
21868 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
21871 this now has changed to
21875 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
21879 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
21880 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
21883 Gnus is now a MIME-capable reader. This affects many parts of
21884 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
21887 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
21888 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
21891 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
21892 called to position point.
21895 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
21896 summary buffers and NOV files.
21899 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
21900 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
21903 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
21904 subtly different manner.
21907 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
21908 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
21909 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
21912 Gnus can now read IMAP mail via @code{nnimap}.
21920 @section The Manual
21924 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
21925 either @code{texi2dvi}
21927 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
21928 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
21930 to get what you hold in your hands now.
21932 The following conventions have been used:
21937 This is a @samp{string}
21940 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
21943 This is a @file{file}
21946 This is a @code{symbol}
21950 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
21954 (setq flargnoze "yes")
21957 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
21960 (setq flumphel 'yes)
21963 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
21964 ever get them confused.
21968 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
21969 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
21970 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
21971 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
21972 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
21973 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
21974 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
21980 @node On Writing Manuals
21981 @section On Writing Manuals
21983 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
21984 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
21985 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
21986 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
21987 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
21988 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
21991 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
21992 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
21993 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
21996 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
21997 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
22002 @section Terminology
22004 @cindex terminology
22009 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
22010 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
22011 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
22012 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
22013 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
22017 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
22018 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
22019 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
22020 not posting, and replying is not following up.
22024 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
22028 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
22033 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of back ends, both news and mail
22034 back ends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
22035 is all done by the back ends.
22039 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
22040 default, way of getting news.
22044 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
22045 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
22050 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
22051 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
22055 A message that has been posted as news.
22058 @cindex mail message
22059 A message that has been mailed.
22063 A mail message or news article
22067 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
22072 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
22077 A line from the head of an article.
22081 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
22082 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
22086 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
22087 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
22088 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
22089 normal @sc{head} format.
22093 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
22094 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
22095 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
22096 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
22097 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
22098 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
22100 @item killed groups
22101 @cindex killed groups
22102 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
22103 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
22105 @item zombie groups
22106 @cindex zombie groups
22107 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
22110 @cindex active file
22111 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
22112 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
22113 is rather large, as you might surmise.
22116 @cindex bogus groups
22117 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
22118 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
22119 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
22122 @cindex activating groups
22123 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
22124 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
22125 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
22129 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
22131 @item select method
22132 @cindex select method
22133 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
22136 @item virtual server
22137 @cindex virtual server
22138 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
22139 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
22140 whole is a virtual server.
22144 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
22145 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
22148 @item ephemeral groups
22149 @cindex ephemeral groups
22150 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
22151 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
22152 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
22155 @cindex solid groups
22156 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
22157 group buffer are solid groups.
22159 @item sparse articles
22160 @cindex sparse articles
22161 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
22162 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
22166 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
22167 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
22171 @cindex thread root
22172 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
22173 articles in the thread.
22177 An article that has responses.
22181 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
22185 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
22186 specified by RFC 1153.
22192 @node Customization
22193 @section Customization
22194 @cindex general customization
22196 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
22197 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
22198 for some quite common situations.
22201 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
22202 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
22203 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
22204 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
22208 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
22209 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
22211 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
22212 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
22213 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
22217 @item gnus-read-active-file
22218 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
22219 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
22220 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
22221 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
22222 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
22224 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
22225 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
22226 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
22227 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
22231 @node Slow Terminal Connection
22232 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
22234 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
22235 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
22236 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
22240 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
22241 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
22242 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
22243 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
22244 horizontal and vertical recentering.
22246 @item gnus-visible-headers
22247 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
22248 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
22249 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
22250 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
22252 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
22254 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
22255 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
22256 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
22259 @item gnus-use-full-window
22260 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
22261 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
22262 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
22263 want to read them anyway.
22265 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
22266 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
22269 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
22270 Avaliable predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
22271 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
22276 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
22277 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
22278 gnus-article-unseen-p))
22281 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
22282 unread, but you get my drift.)
22285 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
22286 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
22287 lines, which might save some time.
22291 @node Little Disk Space
22292 @subsection Little Disk Space
22295 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
22296 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
22300 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
22301 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
22302 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
22303 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
22306 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
22307 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
22308 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
22309 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
22312 @item gnus-save-killed-list
22313 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
22314 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
22315 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
22316 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
22322 @subsection Slow Machine
22323 @cindex slow machine
22325 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
22326 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
22328 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
22329 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
22331 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
22332 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
22333 summary buffer faster.
22337 @node Troubleshooting
22338 @section Troubleshooting
22339 @cindex troubleshooting
22341 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
22349 Make sure your computer is switched on.
22352 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
22353 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
22357 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
22358 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
22359 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
22360 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
22363 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
22367 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
22368 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
22369 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
22370 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
22371 something like that.
22374 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
22377 @cindex reporting bugs
22379 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
22381 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
22382 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
22383 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
22384 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
22386 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
22387 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
22388 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
22389 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
22392 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
22393 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
22394 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
22395 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
22396 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
22397 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
22399 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
22400 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
22401 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
22405 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
22406 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
22408 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
22409 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
22411 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
22412 @cindex ding mailing list
22413 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
22414 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
22418 @node Gnus Reference Guide
22419 @section Gnus Reference Guide
22421 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
22422 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
22423 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
22424 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
22427 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
22428 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
22429 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
22430 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
22431 and general methods of operation.
22434 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
22435 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
22436 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
22437 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
22438 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
22439 * Group Info:: The group info format.
22440 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
22441 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
22442 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
22446 @node Gnus Utility Functions
22447 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
22448 @cindex Gnus utility functions
22449 @cindex utility functions
22451 @cindex internal variables
22453 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
22454 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
22455 Below is a list of the most common ones.
22459 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
22460 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
22461 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
22463 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
22464 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
22465 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
22467 @item gnus-group-real-name
22468 @findex gnus-group-real-name
22469 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
22472 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
22473 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
22474 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
22475 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
22477 @item gnus-get-info
22478 @findex gnus-get-info
22479 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
22481 @item gnus-group-unread
22482 @findex gnus-group-unread
22483 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
22487 @findex gnus-active
22488 The active entry for @var{group}.
22490 @item gnus-set-active
22491 @findex gnus-set-active
22492 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
22494 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
22495 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
22496 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
22499 @item gnus-continuum-version
22500 @findex gnus-continuum-version
22501 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
22502 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
22505 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
22506 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
22507 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
22509 @item gnus-news-group-p
22510 @findex gnus-news-group-p
22511 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
22513 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
22514 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
22515 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
22517 @item gnus-server-to-method
22518 @findex gnus-server-to-method
22519 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
22521 @item gnus-server-equal
22522 @findex gnus-server-equal
22523 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
22525 @item gnus-group-native-p
22526 @findex gnus-group-native-p
22527 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
22529 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
22530 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
22531 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
22533 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
22534 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
22535 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
22537 @item group-group-find-parameter
22538 @findex group-group-find-parameter
22539 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
22540 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
22542 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
22543 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
22544 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
22546 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
22547 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
22548 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
22550 @item gnus-check-backend-function
22551 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
22552 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
22553 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
22556 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
22560 @item gnus-read-method
22561 @findex gnus-read-method
22562 Prompts the user for a select method.
22567 @node Back End Interface
22568 @subsection Back End Interface
22570 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
22571 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
22572 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
22573 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
22574 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
22575 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
22577 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
22578 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
22579 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
22580 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
22581 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
22582 been opened, the function should fail.
22584 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
22585 name. Take this example:
22589 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
22590 (nntp-port-number 4324))
22593 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
22594 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
22596 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
22597 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
22598 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
22600 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
22601 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
22602 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
22604 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
22605 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
22606 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
22607 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
22608 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
22609 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
22612 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
22613 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
22614 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
22615 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
22618 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
22619 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
22620 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
22621 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
22622 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
22623 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
22624 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
22625 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
22626 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
22627 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
22629 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
22630 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
22631 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
22632 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
22633 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
22634 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
22635 of numbers as long as possible.
22637 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
22640 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
22643 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
22644 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
22645 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
22646 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
22647 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
22648 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
22652 @node Required Back End Functions
22653 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
22657 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
22659 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
22660 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
22661 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
22662 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
22664 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
22665 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
22666 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
22667 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
22669 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
22670 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
22671 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
22672 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
22673 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
22674 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
22675 number, do maximum fetches.
22677 Here's an example HEAD:
22680 221 1056 Article retrieved.
22681 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
22682 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
22683 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
22684 Subject: Re: Something very droll
22685 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
22686 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
22688 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
22689 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
22690 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
22694 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
22695 these in the data buffer.
22697 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
22701 head = error / valid-head
22702 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
22703 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
22704 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
22705 header = <text> eol
22708 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
22709 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
22713 nov-buffer = *nov-line
22714 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
22715 field = <text except TAB>
22718 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
22722 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
22724 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
22725 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
22727 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
22728 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
22729 server. In fact, it should do so.
22731 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
22732 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
22735 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
22737 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
22738 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
22741 There should be no data returned.
22744 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
22746 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
22747 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
22748 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
22749 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
22751 There should be no data returned.
22754 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
22756 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
22757 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
22758 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
22759 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
22761 There should be no data returned.
22764 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
22766 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
22768 There should be no data returned.
22771 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
22773 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
22774 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
22775 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
22776 it would be nice if that were possible.
22778 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
22779 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
22780 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
22781 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
22782 into its article buffer.
22784 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
22785 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
22786 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
22787 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
22788 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
22789 on successful article retrieval.
22792 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
22794 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
22795 making @var{group} the current group.
22797 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
22800 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
22803 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
22806 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
22807 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
22808 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
22809 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
22810 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
22811 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
22812 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
22813 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
22816 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
22817 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
22818 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
22822 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22824 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
22825 a no-op on most back ends.
22827 There should be no data returned.
22830 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
22832 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
22835 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
22838 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
22839 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
22842 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
22843 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
22846 active-file = *active-line
22847 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
22849 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
22852 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
22853 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
22854 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
22857 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
22859 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
22860 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
22861 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
22862 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
22863 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
22864 clear if the posting could not be completed.
22866 There should be no result data from this function.
22871 @node Optional Back End Functions
22872 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
22876 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
22878 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
22879 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
22880 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
22882 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
22883 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
22884 former is in the same format as the data from
22885 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
22886 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
22889 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
22893 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
22895 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
22896 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
22897 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
22898 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
22899 should return the (altered) group info.
22901 There should be no result data from this function.
22904 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
22906 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
22907 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
22908 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
22909 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
22910 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
22911 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
22912 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
22913 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
22915 There should be no result data from this function.
22918 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
22920 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
22921 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
22922 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
22923 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
22924 propagate the mark information to the server.
22926 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
22929 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
22932 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
22933 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
22934 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
22935 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
22936 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
22937 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
22938 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
22939 possible, not limit itself to these.
22941 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
22942 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
22943 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
22944 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
22946 An example action list:
22949 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
22950 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
22951 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
22954 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
22955 mark on (currently not used for anything).
22957 There should be no result data from this function.
22959 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
22961 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
22962 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
22963 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
22964 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
22965 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
22967 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
22968 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
22969 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
22972 There should be no result data from this function.
22975 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
22977 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
22978 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
22979 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
22980 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
22981 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
22982 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
22983 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
22985 There should be no result data from this function.
22988 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
22990 The result data from this function should be a description of
22994 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
22996 description = <text>
22999 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
23001 The result data from this function should be the description of all
23002 groups available on the server.
23005 description-buffer = *description-line
23009 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
23011 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
23012 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
23013 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
23014 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
23015 in the active buffer format.
23017 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
23018 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
23019 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
23020 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
23021 many groups, so nnml and the like are probably safe. But for back ends
23022 like nntp, where the groups have been created by the server, it is quite
23023 likely that there can be many groups.
23026 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23028 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
23030 There should be no return data.
23033 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
23035 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
23036 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
23037 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
23038 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
23039 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
23042 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
23045 There should be no result data returned.
23048 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
23051 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
23052 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
23054 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
23055 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
23056 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
23057 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
23058 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
23059 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
23061 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
23062 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
23065 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23066 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23068 There should be no data returned.
23071 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
23073 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
23074 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
23075 this function in short order.
23077 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23078 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23080 There should be no data returned.
23083 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
23085 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
23086 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
23088 There should be no data returned.
23091 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
23093 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
23094 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
23095 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
23097 There should be no data returned.
23100 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
23102 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
23103 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
23105 There should be no data returned.
23110 @node Error Messaging
23111 @subsubsection Error Messaging
23113 @findex nnheader-report
23114 @findex nnheader-get-report
23115 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
23116 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
23117 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
23118 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
23119 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
23120 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
23123 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
23125 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
23128 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
23129 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
23130 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
23131 takes one argument---the server symbol.
23133 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
23134 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
23135 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
23138 @node Writing New Back Ends
23139 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
23141 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
23142 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
23143 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
23144 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
23145 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
23148 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
23149 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
23150 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
23152 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
23153 package called @code{nnoo}.
23155 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
23156 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
23162 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
23163 parameters. For instance:
23166 (nnoo-declare nndir
23170 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
23171 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
23174 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
23175 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
23176 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
23178 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
23179 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
23180 a function in those back ends.
23183 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
23184 "Where nndir will look for groups."
23185 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
23188 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
23189 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
23190 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
23192 @item nnoo-define-basics
23193 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
23197 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
23201 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
23202 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
23203 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
23205 @item nnoo-map-functions
23206 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
23207 functions from the parent back ends.
23210 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
23211 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
23212 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
23215 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
23216 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
23217 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
23218 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
23221 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
23222 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
23223 haven't already been defined.
23229 nnmh-request-newgroups)
23233 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
23234 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
23235 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
23240 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
23243 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
23244 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
23248 (require 'nnheader)
23252 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
23254 (nnoo-declare nndir
23257 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
23258 "Where nndir will look for groups."
23259 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
23261 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
23262 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
23265 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
23267 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
23268 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
23269 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
23271 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
23272 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
23274 ;;; Interface functions.
23276 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
23278 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
23279 (setq nndir-directory
23280 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
23282 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
23283 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
23284 (push `(nndir-current-group
23285 ,(file-name-nondirectory
23286 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
23288 (push `(nndir-top-directory
23289 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
23291 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
23293 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
23294 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
23295 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
23296 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
23297 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
23301 nnmh-status-message
23303 nnmh-request-newgroups))
23309 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
23310 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
23312 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
23313 @findex gnus-declare-backend
23314 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
23315 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
23316 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
23318 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
23319 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
23324 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
23327 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
23329 The abilities can be:
23333 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
23335 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
23337 This back end supports both mail and news.
23339 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
23342 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
23343 articles and groups.
23345 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
23346 true for almost all back ends.
23347 @item prompt-address
23348 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
23349 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
23350 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
23354 @node Mail-like Back Ends
23355 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
23357 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
23358 back ends is the heavy dependence by the mail back ends on common
23359 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
23360 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
23363 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
23364 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
23365 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
23368 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
23369 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
23372 This function takes four parameters.
23376 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
23379 @item exit-function
23380 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
23382 @item temp-directory
23383 Where the temporary files should be stored.
23386 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
23387 performed for one group only.
23390 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
23391 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
23392 find the article number assigned to this article.
23394 The function also uses the following variables:
23395 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
23396 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
23397 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
23398 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
23402 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
23403 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
23407 @node Score File Syntax
23408 @subsection Score File Syntax
23410 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
23411 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
23412 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
23414 Here's a typical score file:
23418 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
23425 BNF definition of a score file:
23428 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
23429 element = rule / atom
23430 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
23431 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
23432 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
23433 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
23435 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
23436 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
23437 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
23438 date-header = "date"
23439 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
23440 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
23441 score = "nil" / <integer>
23442 date = "nil" / <natural number>
23443 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
23444 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
23445 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
23446 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
23447 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
23448 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
23449 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
23450 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
23451 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
23452 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
23453 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
23454 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
23455 exclude-files / read-only / touched
23456 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
23457 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
23458 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
23459 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
23460 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
23461 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
23462 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
23463 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
23464 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
23465 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
23466 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
23467 eval = "eval" space <form>
23468 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
23471 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
23474 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
23475 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
23476 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
23477 one looong line, then that's ok.
23479 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
23480 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23484 @subsection Headers
23486 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
23487 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
23488 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
23489 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
23491 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
23492 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
23493 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
23494 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
23495 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
23496 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
23497 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
23499 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
23500 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
23501 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
23502 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
23503 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
23505 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
23506 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
23512 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
23513 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
23515 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
23516 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
23517 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
23518 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
23520 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
23524 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
23527 is transformed into
23530 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
23533 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
23534 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
23537 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
23540 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
23541 is slightly tricky:
23544 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
23550 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
23553 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
23559 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
23566 and is equal to the previous range.
23568 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
23569 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
23570 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
23574 range = simple-range / normal-range
23575 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
23576 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
23577 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
23578 number *[ " " contents ]
23581 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
23582 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
23583 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
23584 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
23585 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
23590 @subsection Group Info
23592 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
23593 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
23594 describes the group.
23596 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
23597 second is a more complex one:
23600 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
23602 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
23603 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
23605 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
23608 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
23609 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
23610 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
23611 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
23612 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
23613 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
23614 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
23615 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
23616 this section is about.
23618 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
23619 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
23620 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
23622 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
23625 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
23626 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
23627 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
23628 group = quote <string> quote
23629 ralevel = rank / level
23630 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
23631 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
23632 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
23634 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
23635 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
23636 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
23637 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
23640 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
23641 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
23644 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
23645 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
23648 @item gnus-info-group
23649 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
23650 @findex gnus-info-group
23651 @findex gnus-info-set-group
23652 Get/set the group name.
23654 @item gnus-info-rank
23655 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
23656 @findex gnus-info-rank
23657 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
23658 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
23660 @item gnus-info-level
23661 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
23662 @findex gnus-info-level
23663 @findex gnus-info-set-level
23664 Get/set the group level.
23666 @item gnus-info-score
23667 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
23668 @findex gnus-info-score
23669 @findex gnus-info-set-score
23670 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
23672 @item gnus-info-read
23673 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
23674 @findex gnus-info-read
23675 @findex gnus-info-set-read
23676 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
23678 @item gnus-info-marks
23679 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
23680 @findex gnus-info-marks
23681 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
23682 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
23684 @item gnus-info-method
23685 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
23686 @findex gnus-info-method
23687 @findex gnus-info-set-method
23688 Get/set the group select method.
23690 @item gnus-info-params
23691 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
23692 @findex gnus-info-params
23693 @findex gnus-info-set-params
23694 Get/set the group parameters.
23697 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
23698 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
23700 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
23701 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
23702 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
23703 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
23706 @node Extended Interactive
23707 @subsection Extended Interactive
23708 @cindex interactive
23709 @findex gnus-interactive
23711 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
23712 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
23713 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
23716 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
23717 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
23722 The best thing to do would have been to implement
23723 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
23724 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
23725 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
23726 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
23727 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
23728 @code{interactive}.
23730 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
23735 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
23736 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
23740 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
23741 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
23742 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
23745 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
23749 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
23753 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
23759 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
23760 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
23764 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
23765 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
23766 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
23768 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
23769 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
23770 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
23771 Gnus, that's very useful.
23773 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
23774 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
23775 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
23776 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
23777 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
23778 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
23779 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
23780 following function:
23783 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
23787 (,function ,@@args))
23791 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
23792 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
23793 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
23796 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
23797 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
23798 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
23800 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
23801 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
23802 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
23805 @node Various File Formats
23806 @subsection Various File Formats
23809 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
23810 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
23814 @node Active File Format
23815 @subsubsection Active File Format
23817 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
23818 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
23821 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
23824 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
23825 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
23826 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
23827 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
23828 no.general 1000 900 y
23831 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
23834 active = *group-line
23835 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
23836 group = <non-white-space string>
23838 high-number = <non-negative integer>
23839 low-number = <positive integer>
23840 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
23843 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
23844 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
23847 @node Newsgroups File Format
23848 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
23850 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
23851 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
23852 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
23855 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
23856 Here's the definition:
23860 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
23861 group = <non-white-space string>
23863 description = <string>
23868 @node Emacs for Heathens
23869 @section Emacs for Heathens
23871 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
23872 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
23873 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
23874 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
23875 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
23876 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
23877 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
23881 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
23882 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
23887 @subsection Keystrokes
23891 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
23894 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
23897 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
23898 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
23899 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
23900 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
23901 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
23902 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
23904 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
23905 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
23906 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
23907 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
23908 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
23909 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
23910 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
23912 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
23913 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
23914 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
23915 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
23916 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
23917 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
23918 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
23920 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
23921 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
23922 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
23923 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
23924 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
23930 @subsection Emacs Lisp
23932 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
23933 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
23934 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
23935 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
23937 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
23938 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
23939 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
23940 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
23941 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
23942 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
23943 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
23946 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
23947 write the following:
23950 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
23953 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
23954 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
23955 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
23958 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
23959 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
23960 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
23961 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
23962 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
23964 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
23965 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
23966 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
23970 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
23974 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
23977 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
23978 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
23981 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
23984 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
23985 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
23988 @include gnus-faq.texi
24008 @c Local Variables:
24010 @c coding: iso-8859-1
24012 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
24013 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
24014 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
24015 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
24016 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref