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4 @settitle Gnus 5.4 Manual
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233 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
240 \thispagestyle{empty}
242 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
244 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
245 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
246 are preserved on all copies.
248 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
249 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
250 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
251 permission notice identical to this one.
253 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
254 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
263 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
265 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
267 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
268 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
269 are preserved on all copies.
272 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
273 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
274 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
275 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
278 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
279 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
280 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
281 permission notice identical to this one.
283 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
284 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
290 @title Gnus 5.4 Manual
292 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
295 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
296 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
298 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
299 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
300 are preserved on all copies.
302 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
303 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
304 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
305 permission notice identical to this one.
307 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
308 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
317 @top The Gnus Newsreader
321 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
322 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
323 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
326 This manual corresponds to Gnus 5.4.
337 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
338 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
340 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
341 being accused of plagiarism:
343 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
344 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
345 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
346 even read news with it!
348 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
349 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
350 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
351 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
352 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
359 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
360 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
361 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
362 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
363 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
364 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
365 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
366 * Various:: General purpose settings.
367 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
368 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
369 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
370 * Key Index:: Key Index.
374 @chapter Starting Gnus
379 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
380 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
383 @findex gnus-other-frame
384 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
385 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
386 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
388 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
392 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
393 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
394 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
395 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
396 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
397 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
398 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
399 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
400 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
401 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
402 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
406 @node Finding the News
407 @section Finding the News
410 @vindex gnus-select-method
412 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
413 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
414 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
415 native method. All groups that are not fetched with this method are
418 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
419 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
422 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
425 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
428 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
431 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
432 certainly be much faster.
434 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
436 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
437 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
438 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
439 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
440 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
441 that fails as well, Gnus will will try to use the machine that is
442 running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
444 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
445 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
446 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
447 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
449 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
450 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
451 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
452 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
453 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
454 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
456 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
458 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
459 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
460 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
461 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
462 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
463 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
465 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
467 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
468 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
469 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
470 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
471 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
472 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
475 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
476 would typically set this variable to
479 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
484 @section The First Time
485 @cindex first time usage
487 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
488 be subscribed by default.
490 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
491 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
492 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
493 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
496 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
497 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is here
498 defined as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
500 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
501 help you with most common problems.
503 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
504 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
508 @node The Server is Down
509 @section The Server is Down
510 @cindex server errors
512 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
513 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
514 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
516 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
517 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
518 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
519 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
520 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
521 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
522 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
524 @findex gnus-no-server
525 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
527 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
528 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
529 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
530 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
531 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
532 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
537 @section Slave Gnusae
540 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
541 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
542 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
543 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
545 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
548 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
549 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
550 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
551 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
552 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
553 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
554 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
556 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
557 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
558 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
559 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
560 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
561 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
562 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
563 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
565 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
566 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
569 @node Fetching a Group
570 @section Fetching a Group
571 @cindex fetching a group
573 @findex gnus-fetch-group
574 It it sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
575 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
576 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
577 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
578 It takes the group name as a parameter.
586 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
587 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
588 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
589 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
590 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
591 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
592 is @code{t} by default. If you set this variable to @code{always}, then
593 Gnus will query the backends for new groups even when you do the @kbd{g}
594 command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
597 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
598 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
599 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
603 @node Checking New Groups
604 @subsection Checking New Groups
606 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
607 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
608 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
609 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
610 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
611 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
612 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
613 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
614 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
615 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
617 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
618 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
619 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
620 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
621 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
622 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
623 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
624 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
625 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
626 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
627 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
629 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
630 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
631 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
632 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
633 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
634 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
637 @node Subscription Methods
638 @subsection Subscription Methods
640 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
641 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
642 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
644 This variable should contain a function. Some handy pre-fab values
649 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
650 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
651 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
652 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
653 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
655 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
656 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
657 Subscribe all new groups randomly.
659 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
660 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
661 Subscribe all new groups alphabetically.
663 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
664 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
665 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
666 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
667 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
668 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
669 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
670 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
671 up. Or something like that.
673 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
674 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
675 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
676 you about @strong{all} new groups.
678 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
679 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
684 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
685 A closely related variable is
686 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
687 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
688 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
689 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
692 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above to
693 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
694 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
697 @node Filtering New Groups
698 @subsection Filtering New Groups
700 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
701 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
702 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
705 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
708 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
709 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
710 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
711 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
712 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
713 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
714 subscribing these groups.
715 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
716 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
718 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
719 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
720 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
721 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
722 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
723 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
724 and if the the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
725 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
727 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
728 Yet another variable that meddles here is
729 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
730 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
731 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
732 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
733 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
734 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
735 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
736 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
738 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
739 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
742 @node Changing Servers
743 @section Changing Servers
744 @cindex changing servers
746 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
747 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
748 very flaky and you want to use another.
750 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
751 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
755 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
756 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
757 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
758 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
761 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
762 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
763 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
764 functions more than absolutely necessary.
766 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
767 @findex gnus-change-server
768 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
769 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
770 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
771 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
772 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
774 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
775 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
776 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
777 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
778 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
780 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
781 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
782 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
783 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
784 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
785 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
789 @section Startup Files
790 @cindex startup files
795 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
796 information is traditionally stored in this file.
798 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
799 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
800 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
801 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
802 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
803 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
804 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
806 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
807 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
808 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
809 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file.
811 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
812 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
813 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
814 the file and save some space, as well as making exit from Gnus faster.
815 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
816 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
818 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
819 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
820 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
821 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
822 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
823 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
824 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
825 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
826 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
827 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
828 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
829 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
831 @vindex gnus-startup-file
832 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
833 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
834 file being whatever that one is with a @samp{.eld} appended.
836 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
837 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
838 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
839 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
840 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
841 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
842 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
843 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
844 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
845 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
848 (defun turn-off-backup ()
849 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
851 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
852 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
855 @vindex gnus-init-file
856 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
857 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
858 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
859 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
860 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
861 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
862 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
863 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
864 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
873 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
874 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
875 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
876 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
877 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
880 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
881 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
884 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
885 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
886 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
888 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
889 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
890 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
891 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
892 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
893 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
896 @node The Active File
897 @section The Active File
899 @cindex ignored groups
901 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
902 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
903 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
905 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
906 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
907 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
908 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
909 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
910 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
911 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
914 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
915 @c if you set it to anything else.
917 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
919 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
920 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
921 reading the active file. This variable is @code{t} by default.
923 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
924 you actually subscribe to.
926 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
927 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
928 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
929 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
931 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
932 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
933 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
934 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
935 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
936 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
938 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
939 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
940 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
941 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
942 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
943 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
945 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
946 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
948 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
949 secondary select methods.
952 @node Startup Variables
953 @section Startup Variables
958 @vindex gnus-load-hook
959 A hook that is run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
960 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
961 times you start Gnus.
963 @item gnus-startup-hook
964 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
965 A hook that is run after starting up Gnus successfully.
967 @item gnus-started-hook
968 @vindex gnus-started-hook
969 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
972 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
973 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
974 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
975 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
976 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
977 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
978 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
979 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
981 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
982 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
983 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
984 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
985 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
986 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
988 @item gnus-no-groups-message
989 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
990 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
992 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
993 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
994 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
996 @item gnus-startup-jingle
997 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
998 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
999 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1004 @node The Group Buffer
1005 @chapter The Group Buffer
1006 @cindex group buffer
1008 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1009 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1010 long as Gnus is active.
1013 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1014 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1015 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1016 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1017 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1018 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1019 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1020 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1021 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1022 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1023 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1024 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1025 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1026 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1027 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1028 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1029 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1033 @node Group Buffer Format
1034 @section Group Buffer Format
1037 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1038 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1039 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1043 @node Group Line Specification
1044 @subsection Group Line Specification
1045 @cindex group buffer format
1047 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1048 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1050 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1053 25: news.announce.newusers
1054 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1059 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1060 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1061 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1062 asterisk at the beginning of the line?)
1064 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1065 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1066 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1067 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1068 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1069 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1071 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1073 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1074 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1075 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1076 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1079 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1080 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1081 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1083 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1088 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1091 Whether the group is subscribed.
1094 Level of subscribedness.
1097 Number of unread articles.
1100 Number of dormant articles.
1103 Number of ticked articles.
1106 Number of read articles.
1109 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1110 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1113 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1116 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1125 Newsgroup description.
1128 @samp{m} if moderated.
1131 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1140 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1144 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1147 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1148 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1149 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1150 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1151 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1154 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1156 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1160 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1164 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1165 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
1166 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1167 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1168 paratere as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1169 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1174 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1175 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1176 group, or a bogus native group.
1179 @node Group Modeline Specification
1180 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1181 @cindex group modeline
1183 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1184 The mode line can be changed by setting
1185 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
1186 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1190 The native news server.
1192 The native select method.
1196 @node Group Highlighting
1197 @subsection Group Highlighting
1198 @cindex highlighting
1199 @cindex group highlighting
1201 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1202 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1203 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1204 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1205 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1207 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1211 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1213 ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
1214 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
1215 ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1217 ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1219 ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1221 ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))))
1224 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1231 The number of unread articles in the group.
1235 Whether the group is a mail group.
1237 The level of the group.
1239 The score of the group.
1241 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1243 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1246 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1247 topic being inserted.
1250 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1251 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1252 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1254 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1255 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1256 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1257 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1258 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1261 @node Group Maneuvering
1262 @section Group Maneuvering
1263 @cindex group movement
1265 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1266 expected, hopefully.
1272 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1273 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1274 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1280 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1281 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1282 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1286 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1287 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1291 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1292 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1296 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1297 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1298 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1302 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1303 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1304 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1307 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1313 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1314 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1315 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1320 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1321 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1322 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1326 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1327 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1328 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1331 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1332 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1333 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1334 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1338 @node Selecting a Group
1339 @section Selecting a Group
1340 @cindex group selection
1345 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1346 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1347 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1348 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1349 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1350 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1351 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1352 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1353 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1354 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1358 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1359 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1360 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1361 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1362 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1366 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1367 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1368 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1369 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1370 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1371 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1372 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1373 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer.
1374 This might be useful if you want to toggle threading before entering the
1378 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1379 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1380 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1381 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1382 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1385 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1386 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1387 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1388 doing any processing of its contents
1389 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1390 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1391 manner will have no permanent effects.
1395 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1396 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1397 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1398 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1399 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1400 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1401 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1402 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1405 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1406 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1407 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1408 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1413 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1414 full summary buffer.
1417 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1420 Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
1424 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1425 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1426 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1430 @node Subscription Commands
1431 @section Subscription Commands
1432 @cindex subscription
1440 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1441 Toggle subscription to the current group
1442 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1448 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1449 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1450 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1451 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1457 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1458 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1464 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1465 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1468 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1469 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1470 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1471 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1472 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1478 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1479 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1483 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1484 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1487 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1488 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1489 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1490 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1491 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1492 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1493 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1494 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1495 @file{.newsrc} file.
1499 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1509 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1510 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1511 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1512 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1513 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1518 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1519 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1520 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1524 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1525 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1526 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1528 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1529 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1530 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1531 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1532 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1533 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1540 @section Group Levels
1544 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1545 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1546 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1547 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1548 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1550 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1556 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1557 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1558 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1559 prompted for a level.
1562 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1563 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1564 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1565 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1566 Gnus considers groups on between levels 1 and
1567 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1568 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1569 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1570 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1571 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (default 9),
1572 completely dead. Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly
1573 the same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what
1574 articles you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and
1575 living groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely
1576 for reasons of efficiency.
1578 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1579 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1581 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1582 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1583 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1585 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1586 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1587 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1588 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1589 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1590 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1591 relevant legal ranges.
1593 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1594 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1595 will only move to groups that are of the same level (or lower). In
1596 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1597 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1598 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1601 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1602 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1603 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1606 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1607 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1608 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1609 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1612 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1613 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1614 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1615 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1617 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1618 Gnus will normally just activate groups that are on level
1619 @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to activate
1620 unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable to
1621 5. The default is 6.
1625 @section Group Score
1628 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1629 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1630 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1633 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1634 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1635 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1636 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1637 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1638 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1639 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1641 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1642 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1643 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1644 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1645 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1646 action after each summary exit, you can add
1647 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1648 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1649 slow things down somewhat.
1652 @node Marking Groups
1653 @section Marking Groups
1654 @cindex marking groups
1656 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1657 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1658 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1659 bidding on those groups.
1661 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1662 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1663 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1671 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1672 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1678 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1679 Remove the mark from the current group
1680 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1684 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1685 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1689 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1690 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1694 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1695 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1699 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1700 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1701 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1704 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1706 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1707 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1708 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1709 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1710 the command to be executed.
1713 @node Foreign Groups
1714 @section Foreign Groups
1715 @cindex foreign groups
1717 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1718 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1719 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1720 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1727 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1728 @cindex making groups
1729 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1730 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1731 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1735 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1736 @cindex renaming groups
1737 Rename the current group to something else
1738 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is legal only on some
1739 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1745 @findex gnus-group-customize
1746 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1750 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1751 @cindex renaming groups
1752 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1753 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1757 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1758 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1759 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1763 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1764 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1765 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1769 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1771 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1772 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1777 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1778 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1782 @cindex (ding) archive
1783 @cindex archive group
1784 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1785 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1786 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1787 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1788 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1789 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1790 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1794 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1796 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1797 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1798 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1799 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1803 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1805 Read an arbitrary directory as if with were a newsgroup with the
1806 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1807 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1811 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1812 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1814 Make a group based on some file or other
1815 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1816 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1817 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1818 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1819 @code{rfc934} and @code{forward}. If you run this command without a
1820 prefix, Gnus will guess at the file type. @xref{Document Groups}.
1824 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1829 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1830 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1831 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1832 search engine type and the search string. Legal search engine types
1833 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1834 @xref{Web Searches}.
1837 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1838 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1839 This function will delete the current group
1840 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1841 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1842 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1843 absolutely sure of what you are doing.
1847 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1848 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1849 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1853 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1854 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1855 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1858 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1861 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1862 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1863 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1864 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1865 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
1868 @node Group Parameters
1869 @section Group Parameters
1870 @cindex group parameters
1872 The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
1877 If the group parameter list contains an element that looks like
1878 @code{(to-address . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used by
1879 the backend when doing followups and posts. This is primarily useful in
1880 mail groups that represent closed mailing lists---mailing lists where
1881 it's expected that everybody that writes to the mailing list is
1882 subscribed to it. Since using this parameter ensures that the mail only
1883 goes to the mailing list itself, it means that members won't receive two
1884 copies of your followups.
1886 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1887 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1888 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1889 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1890 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1891 list address instead.
1895 If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
1896 @code{(to-list . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used when
1897 doing a @kbd{a} in any group. It is totally ignored when doing a
1898 followup---except that if it is present in a news group, you'll get mail
1899 group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
1901 @item broken-reply-to
1902 @cindex broken-reply-to
1903 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
1904 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
1905 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
1906 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
1907 broken behavior. So there!
1911 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
1912 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
1916 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, Gnus will treat
1917 all responses as if they were responses to news articles. This can be
1918 useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a news group.
1922 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list and set to
1923 @code{t}, new composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current
1924 group. If it is present and set to @code{none}, no @code{Gcc:} header
1925 will be generated, if it is present and a string, this string will be
1926 inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header (this symbol takes precedence over
1927 any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later).
1931 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
1932 . t)}, , all articles that are read will be marked as expirable. For an
1933 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
1936 @cindex total-expire
1937 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
1938 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
1939 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
1944 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
1945 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
1946 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
1947 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
1948 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
1949 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
1952 @cindex score file group parameter
1953 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
1954 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. This
1955 means that all score commands you issue will end up in that file.
1958 @cindex adapt file group parameter
1959 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
1960 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
1961 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
1964 When unsubscribing to a mailing list you should never send the
1965 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
1966 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
1967 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
1970 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} says which articles to
1971 display on entering the group. Legal values are:
1975 Display all articles, both read and unread.
1978 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
1983 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
1984 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
1985 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
1988 @item @var{(variable form)}
1989 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
1990 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
1991 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
1992 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
1993 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
1994 @code{eval}ed there.
1996 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
1997 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
1998 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
1999 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2000 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2004 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group.
2006 Also @pxref{Topic Parameters}.
2009 @node Listing Groups
2010 @section Listing Groups
2011 @cindex group listing
2013 These commands all list various slices of the groups that are available.
2021 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2022 List all groups that have unread articles
2023 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2024 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2025 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2026 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2033 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2034 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2035 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2036 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2037 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2038 unsubscribed groups).
2042 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2043 List all unread groups on a specific level
2044 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2045 with no unread articles.
2049 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2050 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2051 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2052 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2057 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2058 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2062 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2063 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2064 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2068 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2069 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2073 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2074 List absolutely all groups that are in the active file(s) of the
2075 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2076 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2077 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2078 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list group that
2079 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they are killed groups.
2080 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2084 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2085 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2086 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2090 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2091 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2092 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2096 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2097 @cindex visible group parameter
2098 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2099 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2100 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2101 get the same effect.
2103 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2104 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2105 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2106 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2107 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2110 @node Sorting Groups
2111 @section Sorting Groups
2112 @cindex sorting groups
2114 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2115 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2116 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2117 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2118 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2119 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2124 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2125 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2126 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2128 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2129 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2130 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2132 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2133 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2134 Sort by group level.
2136 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2137 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2138 Sort by group score.
2140 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2141 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2142 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2143 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}.
2145 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2146 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2147 Sort by number of unread articles.
2149 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2150 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2151 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2156 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2157 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2161 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2162 some sorting criteria:
2166 @kindex G S a (Group)
2167 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2168 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2169 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2172 @kindex G S u (Group)
2173 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2174 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2175 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2178 @kindex G S l (Group)
2179 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2180 Sort the group buffer by group level
2181 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2184 @kindex G S v (Group)
2185 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2186 Sort the group buffer by group score
2187 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}).
2190 @kindex G S r (Group)
2191 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2192 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2193 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2196 @kindex G S m (Group)
2197 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2198 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2199 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2203 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2205 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2209 @kindex G P a (Group)
2210 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2211 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2212 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2215 @kindex G P u (Group)
2216 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2217 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2218 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2221 @kindex G P l (Group)
2222 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2223 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2224 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2227 @kindex G P v (Group)
2228 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2229 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2230 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}).
2233 @kindex G P r (Group)
2234 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2235 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
2236 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}).
2239 @kindex G P m (Group)
2240 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2241 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2242 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2248 @node Group Maintenance
2249 @section Group Maintenance
2250 @cindex bogus groups
2255 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2256 Find bogus groups and delete them
2257 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2261 @findex gnus-find-new-newsgroups
2262 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-find-new-newsgroups}). If
2263 given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server for
2267 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2268 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2269 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2270 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2273 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2274 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2275 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2276 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2281 @node Browse Foreign Server
2282 @section Browse Foreign Server
2283 @cindex foreign servers
2284 @cindex browsing servers
2289 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2290 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2291 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2292 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2295 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2296 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2297 will be use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2298 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2300 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2305 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2306 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2310 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2311 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2314 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2315 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2316 Enter the current group and display the first article
2317 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2320 @kindex RET (Browse)
2321 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2322 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2326 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2327 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2328 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2334 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2335 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2339 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2340 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2341 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2346 @section Exiting Gnus
2347 @cindex exiting Gnus
2349 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2354 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2355 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2356 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2357 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2361 @findex gnus-group-exit
2362 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2366 @findex gnus-group-quit
2367 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2368 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2371 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2372 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2373 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2374 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2375 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2380 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2381 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2382 trying to customize meta-variables.
2387 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2388 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2389 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2395 @section Group Topics
2398 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2399 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2400 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2401 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2402 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2403 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2411 2: alt.religion.emacs
2414 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2416 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2417 13: comp.sources.unix
2420 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2422 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2423 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2424 is a toggling command.)
2426 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2427 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2428 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2429 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2432 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2433 the hook for the group mode:
2436 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2440 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2441 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2442 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2443 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2444 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2448 @node Topic Variables
2449 @subsection Topic Variables
2450 @cindex topic variables
2452 Now, if you select a topic, if will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2453 really neat, I think.
2455 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2456 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2457 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2470 Number of groups in the topic.
2472 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2474 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2477 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2478 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2479 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2482 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2483 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2485 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2486 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2487 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2490 @node Topic Commands
2491 @subsection Topic Commands
2492 @cindex topic commands
2494 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2495 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2496 definitions slightly.
2502 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2503 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2504 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2508 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2509 Move the current group to some other topic
2510 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2511 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2515 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2516 Copy the current group to some other topic
2517 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2518 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2522 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2523 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2524 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2525 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2529 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2530 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2531 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2535 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2536 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2537 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2541 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2542 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2543 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2546 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2547 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2548 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2549 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2553 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2555 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2556 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2557 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2558 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2559 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2560 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2563 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2564 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2565 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2566 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2567 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2571 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2572 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2573 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2577 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2578 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2579 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2584 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2585 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2588 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2589 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2590 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2594 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2595 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2596 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2600 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2601 @cindex group parameters
2602 @cindex topic parameters
2604 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2605 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2611 @subsection Topic Sorting
2612 @cindex topic sorting
2614 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2620 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2621 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2622 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2623 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2626 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2627 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2628 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2629 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2632 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2633 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2634 Sort the current topic by group level
2635 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2638 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2639 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2640 Sort the current topic by group score
2641 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}).
2644 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2645 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2646 Sort the current topic by group rank
2647 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2650 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2651 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2652 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2653 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2657 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2660 @node Topic Topology
2661 @subsection Topic Topology
2662 @cindex topic topology
2665 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2671 2: alt.religion.emacs
2674 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2676 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2677 13: comp.sources.unix
2680 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2681 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2682 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2687 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2688 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2692 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2693 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2694 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2695 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2696 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2697 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2699 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2700 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2701 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2704 @node Topic Parameters
2705 @subsection Topic Parameters
2706 @cindex topic parameters
2708 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2709 ancestor) topic parameters. All legal group parameters are legal topic
2710 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2712 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2713 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2714 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2715 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2721 2: alt.religion.emacs
2725 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2727 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2728 13: comp.sources.unix
2732 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2733 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2734 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2735 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2736 @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2737 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2739 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2740 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2741 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2742 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2743 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2745 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2746 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2747 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2748 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2749 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2750 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2751 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2752 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2755 @node Misc Group Stuff
2756 @section Misc Group Stuff
2759 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2760 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2761 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2762 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2769 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2770 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2771 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2775 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2776 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). The current
2777 group name will be used as the default.
2781 @findex gnus-group-mail
2782 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2786 Variables for the group buffer:
2790 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2791 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2792 @code{gnus-group-mode-hook} is called after the group buffer has been
2795 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2796 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2797 @code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} is called after the group buffer is
2798 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2801 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2802 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2803 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2804 whether they are empty or not.
2809 @node Scanning New Messages
2810 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2811 @cindex new messages
2812 @cindex scanning new news
2818 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2819 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2820 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2821 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2822 command will force a total rereading of the active file(s) from the
2827 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2828 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2829 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2830 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
2831 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
2832 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
2834 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2835 @cindex activating groups
2837 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2838 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2843 @findex gnus-group-restart
2844 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
2845 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
2846 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
2850 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2851 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2853 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
2854 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
2858 @node Group Information
2859 @subsection Group Information
2860 @cindex group information
2861 @cindex information on groups
2868 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
2869 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
2872 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
2873 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
2874 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
2875 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
2876 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
2877 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
2878 for fetching the file.
2880 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
2881 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
2886 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
2887 @cindex describing groups
2888 @cindex group description
2889 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
2890 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
2891 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
2895 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
2896 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
2897 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
2902 @findex gnus-version
2903 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
2907 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
2908 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
2911 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
2914 @findex gnus-info-find-node
2915 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
2919 @node Group Timestamp
2920 @subsection Group Timestamp
2922 @cindex group timestamps
2924 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
2925 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
2926 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
2929 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
2932 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
2934 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
2935 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
2938 (setq gnus-group-line-format
2939 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
2942 This will result in lines looking like:
2945 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
2946 0: custom 19961002T012713
2949 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
2950 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
2954 (setq gnus-group-line-format
2955 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
2960 @subsection File Commands
2961 @cindex file commands
2967 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
2968 @vindex gnus-init-file
2969 @cindex reading init file
2970 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
2971 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
2975 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
2976 @cindex saving .newsrc
2977 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
2978 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
2979 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
2982 @c @kindex Z (Group)
2983 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
2984 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
2989 @node The Summary Buffer
2990 @chapter The Summary Buffer
2991 @cindex summary buffer
2993 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
2994 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
2996 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
2997 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
2999 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3002 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3003 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3004 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3005 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3006 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3007 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3008 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3009 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3010 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3011 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3012 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3013 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3014 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3015 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3016 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3017 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3018 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3019 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3020 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3021 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3022 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3023 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3024 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3025 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3026 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3027 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3028 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3032 @node Summary Buffer Format
3033 @section Summary Buffer Format
3034 @cindex summary buffer format
3037 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3038 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3039 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3042 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3043 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3044 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3045 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3046 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3047 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined function exist:
3048 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3049 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3050 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3051 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3052 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
3054 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3055 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3056 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3057 with those specs that require it. The default is @samp{}.
3060 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3061 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3063 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3064 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3065 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3066 lines a a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3067 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3069 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3071 The following format specification characters are understood:
3079 Subject if the article is the root or the previous article had a
3080 different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3081 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @samp{}.)
3083 Full @code{From} header.
3085 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3087 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3088 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3089 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3090 may be more thorough.
3092 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3095 Number of lines in the article.
3097 Number of characters in the article.
3099 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3101 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3102 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3104 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3105 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3107 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3108 for adopted articles.
3110 One space for each thread level.
3112 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3120 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3121 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3122 default level. If the difference between
3123 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
3124 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3132 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3134 The @code{Date} in @code{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS} format.
3140 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3141 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3143 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3144 article has any children.
3148 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3149 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
3150 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3151 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3152 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3153 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3156 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3157 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3158 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3159 that. This means that it is illegal to have these specs after a
3160 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3161 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3163 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3164 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3166 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3169 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3170 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3172 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3173 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
3174 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. The default
3175 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3177 Here are the elements you can play with:
3183 Unprefixed group name.
3185 Current article number.
3189 Number of unread articles in this group.
3191 Number of unselected articles in this group.
3193 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3194 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3195 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3196 and no unselected ones.
3198 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3199 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3201 Subject of the current article.
3205 Name of the current score file.
3207 Number of dormant articles.
3209 Number of ticked articles.
3211 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3213 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3217 @node Summary Highlighting
3218 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3222 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3223 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3224 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3225 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3226 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3228 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3229 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3230 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3231 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3233 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3234 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3235 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) that is used to
3236 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3238 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3239 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3240 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3241 list where the elements are on the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3242 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3243 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3245 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3246 ((> score default) . bold))
3248 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3249 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3253 @node Summary Maneuvering
3254 @section Summary Maneuvering
3255 @cindex summary movement
3257 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3258 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3260 None of these commands select articles.
3265 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3266 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3267 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3268 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3269 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3273 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3274 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3275 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3276 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3277 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3282 @kindex G j (Summary)
3283 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3284 Ask for an article number and then go to that article
3285 (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3288 @kindex G g (Summary)
3289 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3290 Ask for an article number and then go the summary line of that article
3291 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3294 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3295 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3296 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3297 to the group buffer.
3299 Variables related to summary movement:
3303 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3304 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3305 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3306 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3307 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3308 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3309 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3310 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3311 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3312 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3313 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3314 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3315 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3316 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3318 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3319 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3320 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3321 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3322 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3323 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
3324 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3326 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3327 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3328 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3329 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3330 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3332 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3333 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3334 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3335 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3336 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3337 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3338 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3339 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3345 @node Choosing Articles
3346 @section Choosing Articles
3347 @cindex selecting articles
3350 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3351 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3355 @node Choosing Commands
3356 @subsection Choosing Commands
3358 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3359 and they all select and display an article.
3363 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3364 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3365 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3366 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3371 @kindex G n (Summary)
3372 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3373 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3378 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3379 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3384 @kindex G N (Summary)
3385 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3386 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3391 @kindex G P (Summary)
3392 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3393 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3396 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3397 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3398 Go to the next article with the same subject
3399 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3402 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3403 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3404 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3405 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3409 @kindex G f (Summary)
3411 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3412 Go to the first unread article
3413 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3417 @kindex G b (Summary)
3419 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3420 Go to the article with the highest score
3421 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3426 @kindex G l (Summary)
3427 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3428 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3431 @kindex G p (Summary)
3432 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3433 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3434 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3435 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3436 history as you like.
3440 @node Choosing Variables
3441 @subsection Choosing Variables
3443 Some variables that are relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3446 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3447 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3448 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3449 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3450 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3451 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3453 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3454 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3455 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3456 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3458 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3459 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3460 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3461 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3462 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3463 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3464 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3465 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3466 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3467 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3468 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3469 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3470 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3471 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3476 @node Paging the Article
3477 @section Scrolling the Article
3478 @cindex article scrolling
3483 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3484 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3485 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3486 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3487 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3490 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3491 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3492 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3495 @kindex RET (Summary)
3496 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3497 Scroll the current article one line forward
3498 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3502 @kindex A g (Summary)
3504 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3505 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3506 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3507 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3508 the way it came from the server.
3513 @kindex A < (Summary)
3514 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3515 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3516 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3521 @kindex A > (Summary)
3522 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3523 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3527 @kindex A s (Summary)
3529 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3530 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3531 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3536 @node Reply Followup and Post
3537 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3540 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3541 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3545 @node Summary Mail Commands
3546 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3548 @cindex composing mail
3550 Commands for composing a mail message:
3556 @kindex S r (Summary)
3558 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3559 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3560 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3565 @kindex S R (Summary)
3566 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3567 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3568 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3569 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3572 @kindex S w (Summary)
3573 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3574 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3575 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}).
3578 @kindex S W (Summary)
3579 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3580 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3581 message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3582 the process/prefix convention.
3585 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3586 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3587 Forward the current article to some other person
3588 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3589 headers of the forwarded article.
3594 @kindex S m (Summary)
3595 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3596 Send a mail to some other person
3597 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3600 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3601 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3602 @cindex bouncing mail
3603 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3604 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3605 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3606 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3607 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3608 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3609 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3610 very well fail, though.
3613 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3614 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3615 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3616 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3617 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3618 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3619 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3620 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3621 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3622 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3624 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3625 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3626 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3627 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3628 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3630 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3631 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3634 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3635 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3636 Digest the current series and forward the result using mail
3637 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3638 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3641 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3642 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3643 @cindex crossposting
3644 @cindex excessive crossposting
3645 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3646 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3648 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3649 This command is provided as a way to fight back agains the current
3650 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3651 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3652 command understands the process/prefix convention
3653 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3658 @node Summary Post Commands
3659 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3661 @cindex composing news
3663 Commands for posting a news article:
3669 @kindex S p (Summary)
3670 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3671 Post an article to the current group
3672 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3677 @kindex S f (Summary)
3678 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3679 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3683 @kindex S F (Summary)
3685 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3686 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3687 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3688 process/prefix convention.
3691 @kindex S n (Summary)
3692 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3693 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3694 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
3697 @kindex S n (Summary)
3698 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3699 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3700 message through mail and include the original message
3701 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
3702 the process/prefix convention.
3705 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3706 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3707 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3708 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3709 headers of the forwarded article.
3712 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3713 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3714 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3715 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}).
3718 @kindex S u (Summary)
3719 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3720 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3721 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3725 @node Canceling and Superseding
3726 @section Canceling Articles
3727 @cindex canceling articles
3728 @cindex superseding articles
3730 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3731 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3733 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3735 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3737 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3738 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3739 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3740 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3742 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3743 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3746 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3747 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3748 your original article.
3750 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3752 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3753 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3754 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3757 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3758 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3759 have posted almost the same article twice.
3761 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3762 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3763 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3764 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
3765 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3766 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3767 header by substituting one of those words for the word
3768 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
3769 you would do normally. The previous article will be
3770 canceled/superseded.
3772 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3775 @node Marking Articles
3776 @section Marking Articles
3777 @cindex article marking
3778 @cindex article ticking
3781 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3783 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3784 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3785 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3787 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3790 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3791 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3792 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3796 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3800 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
3801 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
3805 @node Unread Articles
3806 @subsection Unread Articles
3808 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
3813 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
3814 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
3816 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
3817 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
3818 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
3819 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
3820 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
3824 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3825 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
3827 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
3828 are followups to it.
3831 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
3832 Markes as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
3834 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
3839 @subsection Read Articles
3840 @cindex expirable mark
3842 All the following marks mark articles as read.
3847 @vindex gnus-del-mark
3848 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
3849 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
3852 @vindex gnus-read-mark
3853 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
3856 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
3857 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
3858 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
3861 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
3862 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
3865 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
3866 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
3869 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
3870 Marked as read by having a too low score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
3873 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
3874 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
3877 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
3878 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
3881 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
3882 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
3885 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
3886 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
3890 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
3891 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
3892 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
3896 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
3897 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
3899 One more special mark, though:
3903 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
3904 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
3906 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
3907 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
3908 control the expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
3909 articles that are marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
3915 @subsection Other Marks
3916 @cindex process mark
3919 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
3925 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
3926 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
3927 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
3928 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
3929 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
3932 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
3933 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
3934 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
3935 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
3938 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
3939 Articles that are stored in the article cache will be marked with an
3940 @samp{*} in the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}).
3943 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
3944 Articles that are ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
3945 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
3946 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}.
3949 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
3950 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
3951 It the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
3952 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
3953 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
3956 @vindex gnus-process-mark
3957 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}. A
3958 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
3959 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
3960 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
3961 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
3965 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
3966 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
3967 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
3969 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
3970 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
3971 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
3975 @subsection Setting Marks
3976 @cindex setting marks
3978 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
3984 @kindex M t (Summary)
3985 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
3986 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
3991 @kindex M ? (Summary)
3992 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
3993 Mark the current article as dormant
3994 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}).
3998 @kindex M d (Summary)
4000 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4001 Mark the current article as read
4002 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4006 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4007 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4008 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4013 @kindex M k (Summary)
4014 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4015 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4016 and then select the next unread article
4017 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4021 @kindex M K (Summary)
4022 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4023 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4024 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4025 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4028 @kindex M C (Summary)
4029 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4030 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4033 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4034 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4035 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4036 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4039 @kindex M H (Summary)
4040 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4041 Catchup the current group to point
4042 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4045 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4046 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4047 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4048 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4051 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4052 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4053 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4054 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4058 @kindex M c (Summary)
4059 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4060 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4061 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4062 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}).
4066 @kindex M e (Summary)
4068 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4069 Mark the current article as expirable
4070 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4073 @kindex M b (Summary)
4074 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4075 Set a bookmark in the current article
4076 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4079 @kindex M B (Summary)
4080 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4081 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4082 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4085 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4086 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4087 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4088 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4091 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4092 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4093 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4094 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4097 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4098 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4099 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4100 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4101 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4104 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4105 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4106 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4107 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4108 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4109 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4110 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4111 The default is @code{t}.
4114 @node Setting Process Marks
4115 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4116 @cindex setting process marks
4123 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4124 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4125 Mark the current article with the process mark
4126 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4127 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4131 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4132 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4133 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4134 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4137 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4138 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4139 Remove the process mark from all articles
4140 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4143 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4144 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4145 Invert the list of process marked articles
4146 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4149 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4150 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4151 Mark articles by a regular expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4154 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4155 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4156 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4159 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4160 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4161 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4162 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4165 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4166 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4167 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4168 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4171 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4172 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4173 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4174 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4177 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4178 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4179 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4182 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4183 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4184 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4185 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4188 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4189 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4190 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4193 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4194 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4195 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4196 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4199 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4200 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4201 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4202 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4205 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4206 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4207 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4208 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4211 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4212 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4213 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4214 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4223 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4224 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4225 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4232 @kindex / / (Summary)
4233 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4234 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4235 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4238 @kindex / a (Summary)
4239 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4240 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4241 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4245 @kindex / u (Summary)
4247 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4248 Limit the summary buffer to articles that are not marked as read
4249 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4250 buffer to articles that are strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4251 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4254 @kindex / m (Summary)
4255 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4256 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
4257 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4260 @kindex / t (Summary)
4261 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4262 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles that are
4263 older than (or equal to) that number of days
4264 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4265 articles that are younger than that number of days.
4268 @kindex / n (Summary)
4269 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4270 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4271 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4272 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4275 @kindex / w (Summary)
4276 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4277 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4278 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4282 @kindex / v (Summary)
4283 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4284 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4285 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4289 @kindex M S (Summary)
4290 @kindex / E (Summary)
4291 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4292 Display all expunged articles
4293 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4296 @kindex / D (Summary)
4297 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4298 Display all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4301 @kindex / d (Summary)
4302 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4303 Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4306 @kindex / c (Summary)
4307 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4308 Hide all dormant articles that have no children
4309 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4312 @kindex / C (Summary)
4313 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4314 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4315 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4316 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4324 @cindex article threading
4326 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4327 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4328 hierarchical fashion.
4331 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4332 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4336 @node Customizing Threading
4337 @subsection Customizing Threading
4338 @cindex customizing threading
4344 @item gnus-show-threads
4345 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4346 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4347 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4348 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4349 slower and more awkward.
4351 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4352 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4353 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4354 more old headers---headers to articles that are marked as read. If you
4355 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4356 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4357 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4358 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4359 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4360 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4361 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4362 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4364 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4365 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4366 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4367 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4368 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4369 articles that belong in the same thread together. This will leave
4370 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4371 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4372 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4373 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4374 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4375 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4376 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4377 @code{nil} by default.
4379 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4380 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4381 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4382 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4383 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4384 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4385 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subjects lines. If
4386 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4387 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4388 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4389 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4391 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4392 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4393 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4396 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4397 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4398 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4399 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4400 simplification is used.
4402 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4403 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4404 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4405 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4407 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4409 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4415 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4416 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4417 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4418 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4423 (mapconcat 'identity
4424 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4426 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4429 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4432 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4433 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4434 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4435 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4436 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4437 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4438 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process. The
4439 default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4441 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4442 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4443 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4444 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4445 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4446 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4447 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever includes unrelated
4448 articles, but it's also means that people who have posted with broken
4449 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4453 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4454 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4455 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4456 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4458 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4459 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4460 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4463 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4467 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4468 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4471 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4472 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4473 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4474 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4475 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4476 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4478 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4479 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4480 There are four possible values:
4482 @cindex adopting articles
4487 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4488 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4489 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4490 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4493 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4494 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4495 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4496 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4497 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4498 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4499 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4502 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4503 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4504 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4508 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4509 display them after one another.
4512 Don't gather loose threads.
4515 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4516 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4517 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4520 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
4521 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
4522 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
4523 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
4524 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
4525 threads are expunged.
4527 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4528 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4529 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4532 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4533 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4534 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4535 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4536 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4539 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4540 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4541 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4544 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
4545 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
4546 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
4547 @code{(gnus-decode-rfc1522)}, which means that QPized headers will be
4548 slightly decoded in a hackish way. This is likely to change in the
4549 future when Gnus becomes @sc{MIME}ified.
4554 @node Thread Commands
4555 @subsection Thread Commands
4556 @cindex thread commands
4562 @kindex T k (Summary)
4563 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4564 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4565 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4566 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4567 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4572 @kindex T l (Summary)
4573 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4574 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4575 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4576 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4579 @kindex T i (Summary)
4580 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4581 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4582 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4585 @kindex T # (Summary)
4586 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4587 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
4588 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4591 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4592 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4593 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
4594 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4597 @kindex T T (Summary)
4598 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4599 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4602 @kindex T s (Summary)
4603 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4604 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
4605 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4608 @kindex T h (Summary)
4609 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4610 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4613 @kindex T S (Summary)
4614 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4615 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4618 @kindex T H (Summary)
4619 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4620 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4623 @kindex T t (Summary)
4624 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4625 Re-thread the thread the current article is part of
4626 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4627 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4630 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4631 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4632 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4633 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}.
4637 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4638 understand the numeric prefix.
4643 @kindex T n (Summary)
4644 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4645 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
4648 @kindex T p (Summary)
4649 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
4650 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
4653 @kindex T d (Summary)
4654 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
4655 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
4658 @kindex T u (Summary)
4659 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
4660 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
4663 @kindex T o (Summary)
4664 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
4665 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
4668 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
4669 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
4670 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
4671 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
4672 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
4673 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
4674 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If is
4675 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
4676 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
4677 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
4678 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
4679 that have subjects that are fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
4686 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
4687 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
4688 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
4689 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4690 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
4691 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4692 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
4693 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
4694 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
4695 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
4696 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
4697 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
4698 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
4699 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
4701 Each function takes two threads and return non-@code{nil} if the first
4702 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
4703 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
4704 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
4705 in the list. You should probably always include
4706 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
4707 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
4708 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
4709 ascending article order.
4711 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
4712 number, you could do something like:
4715 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4716 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4717 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4718 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4721 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
4722 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
4723 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
4724 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
4725 which the articles arrived.
4727 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
4731 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4733 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
4734 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4737 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
4738 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
4739 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
4740 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
4743 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
4744 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
4745 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
4746 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
4747 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
4748 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
4749 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
4750 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
4751 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
4752 is uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
4753 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
4754 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
4755 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
4757 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
4761 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
4762 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
4763 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
4768 @node Asynchronous Fetching
4769 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
4770 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
4771 @cindex article pre-fetch
4774 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
4775 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
4776 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
4777 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
4778 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
4780 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
4781 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
4783 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
4784 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
4785 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
4786 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
4787 connection is blocked.
4789 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
4790 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
4791 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
4792 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
4794 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
4795 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
4796 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
4797 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
4800 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
4803 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
4804 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
4805 happen automatically.
4807 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
4808 You can control how many articles that are to be pre-fetched by setting
4809 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
4810 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
4811 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
4812 pre-fetch all the articles that it can without bound. If it is
4813 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be made.
4815 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
4816 @findex gnus-async-read-p
4817 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
4818 articles, for instance. Which articles to pre-fetch is controlled by
4819 the @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable. This function should
4820 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
4821 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
4822 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
4823 data structure as the only parameter.
4825 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles that are
4826 shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
4829 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
4830 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
4831 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
4832 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
4835 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
4838 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
4839 preferrably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
4840 It's also probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
4842 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
4843 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
4844 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
4845 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
4849 Remove articles when they are read.
4852 Remove articles when exiting the group.
4855 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
4857 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
4858 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
4859 from the next group.
4862 @node Article Caching
4863 @section Article Caching
4864 @cindex article caching
4867 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
4868 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
4869 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
4870 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
4871 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
4873 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
4875 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
4876 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
4877 @vindex gnus-use-cache
4878 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
4879 all articles that are ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
4880 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
4881 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
4882 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
4884 When re-select a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
4885 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
4886 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
4887 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
4888 as dormant, and don't worry.
4890 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
4892 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
4893 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
4894 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
4895 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
4896 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
4897 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
4898 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
4899 articles that are marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
4900 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
4901 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
4903 @findex gnus-jog-cache
4904 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
4905 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
4906 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, and store them in
4907 the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this command if 1)
4908 your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really, really slow
4909 and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk. Seriously.
4911 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
4912 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
4913 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
4914 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
4915 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
4916 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
4917 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
4920 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
4921 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
4922 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
4923 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
4924 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
4925 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
4926 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
4927 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
4928 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
4932 @node Persistent Articles
4933 @section Persistent Articles
4934 @cindex persistent articles
4936 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
4937 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
4938 useful in my opinion.
4940 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
4941 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
4942 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
4943 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
4944 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
4945 the expiry going on at the news server.
4947 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
4948 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
4949 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
4955 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
4956 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
4959 @kindex M-* (Summary)
4960 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
4961 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
4962 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
4966 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
4968 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
4969 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
4970 interested in persistent articles:
4973 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
4977 @node Article Backlog
4978 @section Article Backlog
4980 @cindex article backlog
4982 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
4983 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
4984 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
4985 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
4986 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
4987 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
4988 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
4989 increase memory usage some.
4991 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
4992 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
4993 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
4994 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
4995 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
4996 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
4997 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
4999 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5002 @node Saving Articles
5003 @section Saving Articles
5004 @cindex saving articles
5006 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5007 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5008 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5009 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5010 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5012 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5013 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
5014 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5016 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5017 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5018 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5019 deleted before saving.
5025 @kindex O o (Summary)
5027 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5028 Save the current article using the default article saver
5029 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5032 @kindex O m (Summary)
5033 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5034 Save the current article in mail format
5035 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5038 @kindex O r (Summary)
5039 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5040 Save the current article in rmail format
5041 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5044 @kindex O f (Summary)
5045 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5046 Save the current article in plain file format
5047 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5050 @kindex O F (Summary)
5051 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5052 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5053 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5056 @kindex O b (Summary)
5057 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5058 Save the current article body in plain file format
5059 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5062 @kindex O h (Summary)
5063 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5064 Save the current article in mh folder format
5065 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5068 @kindex O v (Summary)
5069 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5070 Save the current article in a VM folder
5071 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5074 @kindex O p (Summary)
5075 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5076 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5077 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5080 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5081 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5082 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5083 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5084 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5085 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5086 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5087 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5088 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5089 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5090 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5091 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5095 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5096 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5097 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5098 functions below, or you can create your own.
5102 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5103 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5104 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5105 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5106 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5107 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5108 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5110 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5111 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5112 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5113 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5114 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5115 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5117 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5118 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5119 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5120 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5121 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5122 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5123 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5125 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5126 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5127 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5128 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5129 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5131 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5132 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5133 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5134 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5135 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5138 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5139 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5140 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5141 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5142 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}. The former creates capitalized names, and
5143 the latter does not.
5145 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5146 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5147 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5148 reader to use this setting.
5151 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5152 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5153 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5154 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5157 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5158 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5159 available functions that generate names:
5163 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5164 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5165 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5167 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5168 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5169 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5171 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5172 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5173 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5175 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5176 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5177 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5180 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5181 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5182 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5183 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5184 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5188 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5189 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5190 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5191 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5194 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5195 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5196 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5197 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5198 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5199 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5200 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5201 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5202 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5204 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5205 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5206 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5207 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5209 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5210 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5211 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5214 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5215 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5216 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5217 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5218 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5219 all the files in the toplevel directory
5220 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5221 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5222 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5223 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5225 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5226 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5227 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5228 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5229 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5232 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5236 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5237 (setq gnus-default-article-save 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5240 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5241 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5242 the toplevel directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5243 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5246 @node Decoding Articles
5247 @section Decoding Articles
5248 @cindex decoding articles
5250 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5251 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5254 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5255 * Shared Articles:: Unshar articles.
5256 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5257 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5258 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5261 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5262 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5263 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5264 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5265 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5267 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5268 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5269 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5271 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5272 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5273 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5275 Subjects that are nonstandard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5276 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5277 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5280 @node Uuencoded Articles
5281 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5283 @cindex uuencoded articles
5288 @kindex X u (Summary)
5289 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5290 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5293 @kindex X U (Summary)
5294 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5295 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5296 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5299 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5300 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5301 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5304 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5305 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5306 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5307 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5310 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5311 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5312 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5313 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5314 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5316 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5317 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5318 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5319 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5322 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5323 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5324 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5325 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5326 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5327 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5331 @node Shared Articles
5332 @subsection Shared Articles
5334 @cindex shared articles
5339 @kindex X s (Summary)
5340 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5341 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5344 @kindex X S (Summary)
5345 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5346 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5349 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5350 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5351 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5354 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5355 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5356 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5357 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5361 @node PostScript Files
5362 @subsection PostScript Files
5368 @kindex X p (Summary)
5369 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5370 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5373 @kindex X P (Summary)
5374 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5375 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5376 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5379 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5380 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5381 View the current PostScript series
5382 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5385 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5386 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5387 View and save the current PostScript series
5388 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5392 @node Decoding Variables
5393 @subsection Decoding Variables
5395 Adjective, not verb.
5398 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5399 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5400 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5404 @node Rule Variables
5405 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5406 @cindex rule variables
5408 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5409 variables are on the form
5412 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5419 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5420 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5422 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5423 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5426 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5427 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5430 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5431 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5432 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5433 user and default view rules.
5435 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5436 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5437 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5442 @node Other Decode Variables
5443 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5446 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5448 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5449 All functions in this list will be called right each file has been
5450 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5451 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5452 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5456 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5457 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5460 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5461 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5462 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5465 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5466 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5467 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5468 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5469 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5472 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5473 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5474 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5476 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5477 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5478 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5479 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5480 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5483 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5484 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5485 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5487 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5488 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5489 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5490 looking for files to display.
5492 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5493 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5494 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5497 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5498 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5499 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5502 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5503 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5504 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5507 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5508 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5509 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5512 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5513 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5514 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark articles that were
5515 unsuccessfully decoded as unread.
5517 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5518 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5519 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5520 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5522 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5523 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5525 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5526 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5527 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5528 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5530 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5531 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5532 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5533 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5534 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5535 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5536 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5537 simply dropped them.
5542 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5543 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5547 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5548 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5549 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5550 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5551 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5552 for you when you post the article.
5554 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5555 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5556 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5557 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5559 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5560 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5561 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5562 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen are able
5563 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5564 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5565 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5567 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5568 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5569 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5570 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5571 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5572 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5573 Default is @code{t}.
5579 @subsection Viewing Files
5580 @cindex viewing files
5581 @cindex pseudo-articles
5583 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
5584 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
5585 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
5586 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
5587 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
5588 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
5589 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
5591 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
5592 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
5593 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
5594 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
5596 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
5597 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
5598 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
5600 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
5601 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
5602 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
5603 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
5604 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
5606 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
5607 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
5608 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
5609 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
5610 a list of parameters to that command.
5612 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
5613 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
5614 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
5616 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
5617 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
5618 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
5621 @node Article Treatment
5622 @section Article Treatment
5624 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
5625 object of newsreaders are to actually, like, read what people have
5626 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
5627 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
5628 these articles easier.
5631 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
5632 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look niced.
5633 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
5634 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
5635 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
5636 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
5637 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
5641 @node Article Highlighting
5642 @subsection Article Highlighting
5645 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
5646 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
5651 @kindex W H a (Summary)
5652 @findex gnus-article-highlight
5653 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
5656 @kindex W H h (Summary)
5657 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
5658 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
5659 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
5660 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
5661 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
5662 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
5663 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name and
5664 @var{content} is the face for highlighting the header value. The first
5665 match made will be used. Note that @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^}
5666 prepended---Gnus will add one.
5669 @kindex W H c (Summary)
5670 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
5671 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
5673 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
5676 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5678 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5679 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
5680 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
5682 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5683 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5684 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
5686 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
5687 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
5688 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
5690 @item gnus-cite-face-list
5691 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
5692 List of faces used for highlighting citations. When there are citations
5693 from multiple articles in the same message, Gnus will try to give each
5694 citation from each article its own face. This should make it easier to
5697 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
5698 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
5699 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
5701 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5702 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5703 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
5705 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5706 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5707 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
5708 that it's a citation.
5710 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5711 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5712 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
5714 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5715 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5716 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
5718 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
5719 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
5720 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
5721 cited text belonging to the attribution.
5727 @kindex W H s (Summary)
5728 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
5729 @vindex gnus-signature-face
5730 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
5731 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
5732 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
5733 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
5734 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
5740 @node Article Fontisizing
5741 @subsection Article Fontisizing
5743 @cindex article emphasis
5745 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
5746 @kindex W e (Summary)
5747 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
5748 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
5749 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
5750 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
5752 @vindex gnus-article-emphasis
5753 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
5754 @code{gnus-article-emphasis} variable. This is an alist where the first
5755 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
5756 that says what regular expression grouping used to find the entire
5757 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
5758 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
5759 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
5763 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
5764 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
5765 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
5768 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
5769 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
5770 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
5771 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
5772 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
5773 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
5774 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
5775 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
5776 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
5777 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
5778 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
5779 @code{gnus-emphasis-undeline-bold}, and
5780 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
5782 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
5783 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
5784 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
5788 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
5792 @node Article Hiding
5793 @subsection Article Hiding
5794 @cindex article hiding
5796 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
5797 too much cruft in most articles.
5802 @kindex W W a (Summary)
5803 @findex gnus-article-hide
5804 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
5807 @kindex W W h (Summary)
5808 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
5809 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
5813 @kindex W W b (Summary)
5814 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
5815 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
5816 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
5819 @kindex W W s (Summary)
5820 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
5821 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
5825 @kindex W W p (Summary)
5826 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
5827 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}).
5830 @kindex W W P (Summary)
5831 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
5832 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) gruft
5833 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
5836 @kindex W W c (Summary)
5837 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
5838 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
5839 customizing the hiding:
5843 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5844 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5845 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
5846 50), hide the cited text.
5848 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5849 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5850 The cited text must be have at least this length (default 10) before it
5853 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5854 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5855 Gnus adds buttons show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
5856 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
5857 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
5862 Start point of the hidden text.
5864 End point of the hidden text.
5866 Length of the hidden text.
5869 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
5870 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
5871 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
5876 @kindex W W C (Summary)
5877 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
5878 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
5879 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
5880 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
5881 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
5885 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
5886 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
5887 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
5889 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
5890 citation customization.
5893 @node Article Washing
5894 @subsection Article Washing
5896 @cindex article washing
5898 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
5899 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
5901 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
5902 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
5908 @kindex W l (Summary)
5909 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
5910 Remove page breaks from the current article
5911 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
5914 @kindex W r (Summary)
5915 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
5916 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
5917 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
5920 @kindex W t (Summary)
5921 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
5922 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
5923 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
5926 @kindex W v (Summary)
5927 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
5928 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
5929 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
5932 @kindex W m (Summary)
5933 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
5934 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
5935 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
5938 @kindex W o (Summary)
5939 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
5940 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
5943 @kindex W w (Summary)
5944 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
5945 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
5946 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
5947 late and certainly after any highlighting.
5949 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
5953 @kindex W c (Summary)
5954 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
5955 Remove CR (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
5958 @kindex W q (Summary)
5959 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
5960 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
5963 @kindex W f (Summary)
5965 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
5966 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
5967 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
5968 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
5969 Look for and display any X-Face headers
5970 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
5971 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
5972 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
5973 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
5974 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
5975 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
5976 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
5977 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
5978 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
5979 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
5980 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
5981 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
5982 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
5986 @kindex W b (Summary)
5987 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
5988 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
5991 @kindex W B (Summary)
5992 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
5993 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
5994 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
5997 @kindex W E l (Summary)
5998 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
5999 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6000 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6003 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6004 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6005 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6006 lines with a single empty line.
6007 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6010 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6011 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6012 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6013 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6016 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6017 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6018 Do all the three commands above
6019 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6024 @node Article Buttons
6025 @subsection Article Buttons
6028 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6029 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6030 with the minimum of fuzz.
6032 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6033 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6034 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6039 @item gnus-button-alist
6040 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6041 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6044 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6050 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6051 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that match embedded URLs:
6052 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6055 Gnus has to know which parts of the match is to be highlighted. This is
6056 a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp that is to be
6057 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6060 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6061 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6062 avoid false matches.
6065 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6068 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6069 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6073 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6076 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6079 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6080 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6081 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6082 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6083 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6086 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6089 @var{header} is a regular expression.
6091 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6092 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6093 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6094 default values of the variables above.
6096 @item gnus-article-button-face
6097 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6098 Face used on buttons.
6100 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6101 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6102 Face is used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6108 @subsection Article Date
6110 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6111 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6112 when the article was sent.
6117 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6118 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6119 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6120 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6123 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6124 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6125 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6128 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6129 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6130 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6131 @findex format-time-string
6132 Display the date using a user-defined format
6133 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6134 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6135 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6136 for a list possible format specs.
6139 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6140 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6141 Say how much time has (e)lapsed between the article was posted and now
6142 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}).
6145 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6146 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6147 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6148 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and is
6149 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6150 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6151 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6156 @node Article Signature
6157 @subsection Article Signature
6159 @cindex article signature
6161 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6162 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6163 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6164 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6165 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6166 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6167 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6168 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6169 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6172 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6173 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6174 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6175 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6176 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6177 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6178 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6179 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6182 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6185 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6186 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6191 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6194 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6197 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6198 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6200 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6201 in question is not a signature.
6204 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6208 @node Article Commands
6209 @section Article Commands
6216 @kindex A P (Summary)
6217 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
6218 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
6219 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
6220 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
6221 run just before printing the buffer.
6226 @node Summary Sorting
6227 @section Summary Sorting
6228 @cindex summary sorting
6230 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6231 can't really see why you'd want that.
6236 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6237 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6238 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6241 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6242 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6243 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6246 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6247 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6248 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6251 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6252 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6253 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6256 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
6257 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
6258 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
6261 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6262 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6263 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6266 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6267 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6268 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6269 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6270 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6274 @node Finding the Parent
6275 @section Finding the Parent
6276 @cindex parent articles
6277 @cindex referring articles
6279 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6281 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6282 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6283 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6284 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6285 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6286 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6287 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6288 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6290 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6291 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6292 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
6293 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6294 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6297 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6298 @kindex A R (Summary)
6299 You can have Gnus fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References}
6300 header of the article by pushing @kbd{A R}
6301 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6303 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6304 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6306 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6307 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6308 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6309 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6310 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6311 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6312 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6314 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6315 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6316 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6317 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6318 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the same
6319 as the one that keeps the spool you are reading from updated, but that's
6320 not really necessary.
6322 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6323 not do a particularly excellent job of it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6324 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6325 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6326 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6327 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6330 @node Alternative Approaches
6331 @section Alternative Approaches
6333 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6334 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6337 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6338 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6343 @subsection Pick and Read
6344 @cindex pick and read
6346 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{nn}) use a two-phased
6347 reading interface. The user first marks the articles she wants to read
6348 from a summary buffer. Then she starts reading the articles with just
6349 an article buffer displayed.
6351 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6352 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6353 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6354 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6355 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6356 it makes one additional command for switching to the summary buffer
6359 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6364 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6365 Pick the article on the current line
6366 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
6367 go to the article on that line and pick that article. (The line number
6368 is normally displayed on the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6371 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6372 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6373 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6374 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6378 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6379 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6383 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6384 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6388 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6389 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6393 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6394 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6398 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6399 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6403 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6404 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6408 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6409 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6413 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6414 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6418 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6419 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6423 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
6424 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
6428 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6429 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6430 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6431 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6432 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6433 will still be visible when you are reading.
6437 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6440 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6443 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6444 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6446 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6447 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6448 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6450 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6451 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different than the
6452 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6453 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6454 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6455 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6456 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6460 @subsection Binary Groups
6461 @cindex binary groups
6463 @findex gnus-binary-mode
6464 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
6465 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
6466 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
6467 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
6468 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
6469 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
6472 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
6473 In fact, the only way to see the actual articles if you have turned this
6474 mode on is the @kbd{g} command (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
6476 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
6477 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
6481 @section Tree Display
6484 @vindex gnus-use-trees
6485 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
6486 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
6487 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
6490 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
6493 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
6494 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
6495 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
6497 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6498 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6499 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
6500 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}. For a list of legal specs, @pxref{Summary
6503 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
6504 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
6505 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
6506 default is @code{modeline}.
6508 @item gnus-tree-line-format
6509 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
6510 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
6511 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
6512 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
6513 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
6514 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
6520 The name of the poster.
6522 The @code{From} header.
6524 The number of the article.
6526 The opening bracket.
6528 The closing bracket.
6533 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6535 Variables related to the display are:
6538 @item gnus-tree-brackets
6539 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
6540 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
6541 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
6542 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
6543 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}))}.
6545 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6546 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6547 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
6548 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
6552 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
6553 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
6554 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
6555 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
6556 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
6557 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}.
6559 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
6560 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
6561 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
6562 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
6563 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
6564 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
6565 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
6569 Here's and example from a horizontal tree buffer:
6572 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
6582 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
6586 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
6587 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
6589 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
6591 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
6597 @node Mail Group Commands
6598 @section Mail Group Commands
6599 @cindex mail group commands
6601 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
6602 illegal in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
6604 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
6605 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6610 @kindex B e (Summary)
6611 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
6612 Expire all expirable articles in the group
6613 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
6616 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
6617 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
6618 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
6619 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
6620 articles that are eligible for expiry in the current group will
6621 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
6624 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
6625 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
6626 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
6627 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
6628 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
6631 @kindex B m (Summary)
6633 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
6634 Move the article from one mail group to another
6635 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6638 @kindex B c (Summary)
6640 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
6641 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
6642 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
6645 @kindex B C (Summary)
6646 @cindex crosspost mail
6647 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
6648 Crosspost the current article to some other group
6649 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
6650 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
6651 be properly updated.
6654 @kindex B i (Summary)
6655 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
6656 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
6657 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
6658 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
6661 @kindex B r (Summary)
6662 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
6663 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6664 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
6665 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
6666 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
6670 @kindex B w (Summary)
6672 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
6673 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
6674 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
6675 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
6676 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}).
6679 @kindex B q (Summary)
6680 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
6681 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
6682 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
6683 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
6686 @kindex B p (Summary)
6687 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
6688 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
6689 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
6690 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
6691 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
6692 article from your news server (or rather, from
6693 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
6694 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
6695 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
6696 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
6697 just not have arrived yet.
6701 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
6702 @cindex moving articles
6703 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
6704 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
6705 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
6706 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
6707 suggestions you find reasonable.
6710 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
6711 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
6712 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
6713 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
6717 @node Various Summary Stuff
6718 @section Various Summary Stuff
6721 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
6722 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
6723 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
6724 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
6728 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
6729 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
6730 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
6732 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
6733 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
6734 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
6735 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
6736 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
6737 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
6740 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6741 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6742 Is is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
6743 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
6744 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
6749 @node Summary Group Information
6750 @subsection Summary Group Information
6755 @kindex H f (Summary)
6756 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
6757 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
6758 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
6759 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
6760 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
6761 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
6762 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
6763 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} probably will be used for
6767 @kindex H d (Summary)
6768 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
6769 Give a brief description of the current group
6770 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
6771 rereading the description from the server.
6774 @kindex H h (Summary)
6775 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
6776 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
6777 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
6780 @kindex H i (Summary)
6781 @findex gnus-info-find-node
6782 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
6786 @node Searching for Articles
6787 @subsection Searching for Articles
6792 @kindex M-s (Summary)
6793 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
6794 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
6795 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
6798 @kindex M-r (Summary)
6799 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
6800 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
6801 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
6805 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
6806 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
6807 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
6808 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}).
6811 @kindex M-& (Summary)
6812 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
6813 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
6814 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
6817 @node Summary Generation Commands
6818 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
6823 @kindex Y g (Summary)
6824 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
6825 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
6828 @kindex Y c (Summary)
6829 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
6830 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
6831 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
6836 @node Really Various Summary Commands
6837 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
6842 @kindex C-d (Summary)
6843 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
6844 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
6845 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
6846 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
6847 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
6848 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
6849 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages on
6850 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
6854 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
6855 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
6856 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
6857 several documents into one biiig group
6858 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
6859 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
6860 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
6861 command understands the process/prefix convention
6862 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6865 @kindex C-t (Summary)
6866 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
6867 Toggle truncation of summary lines
6868 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
6869 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
6870 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
6874 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
6875 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
6876 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
6881 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
6882 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
6883 @cindex summary exit
6884 @cindex exiting groups
6886 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
6887 group and return you to the group buffer.
6893 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
6895 @findex gnus-summary-exit
6896 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
6897 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
6898 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
6899 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
6900 called before doing much of the exiting, and calls
6901 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
6902 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exiting
6903 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
6904 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
6908 @kindex Z E (Summary)
6910 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
6911 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
6912 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
6916 @kindex Z c (Summary)
6918 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
6919 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
6920 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
6923 @kindex Z C (Summary)
6924 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
6925 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
6926 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
6929 @kindex Z n (Summary)
6930 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
6931 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
6932 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
6935 @kindex Z R (Summary)
6936 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
6937 Exit this group, and then enter it again
6938 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
6939 all articles, both read and unread.
6943 @kindex Z G (Summary)
6944 @kindex M-g (Summary)
6945 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
6946 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
6947 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
6948 articles, both read and unread.
6951 @kindex Z N (Summary)
6952 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
6953 Exit the group and go to the next group
6954 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
6957 @kindex Z P (Summary)
6958 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
6959 Exit the group and go to the previous group
6960 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
6963 @kindex Z s (Summary)
6964 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
6965 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
6966 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
6967 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
6968 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
6971 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
6972 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
6975 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
6976 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
6977 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
6978 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
6979 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
6980 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
6981 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
6982 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
6983 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
6984 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
6985 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
6986 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
6988 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
6990 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
6991 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
6992 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
6993 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
6994 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
6995 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
6996 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
6997 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
6998 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7001 @node Crosspost Handling
7002 @section Crosspost Handling
7006 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7007 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7008 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7009 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7010 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7011 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7014 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7015 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7016 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7017 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7018 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7020 @cindex cross-posting
7023 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7024 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7025 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7026 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7027 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7028 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7029 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7030 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7031 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7032 the cross reference mechanism.
7034 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7035 @cindex overview.fmt
7036 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7037 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7038 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7039 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7040 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7041 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7044 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7045 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7046 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7051 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7054 @node Duplicate Suppression
7055 @section Duplicate Suppression
7057 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7058 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7059 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7060 approach may not work satisfactorily for some users for various
7065 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7066 is evil and not very common.
7069 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7070 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7073 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7074 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7077 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7080 I'm sure there are other situations that @code{Xref} handling fails as
7081 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7083 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7084 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7085 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7086 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7087 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7088 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7089 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7092 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7093 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7094 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7095 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7096 article as read the the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7100 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7101 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7102 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7104 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7105 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7106 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7107 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7108 However, this means that only duplicate articles that is read in a
7109 single Gnus session are suppressed.
7111 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7112 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7113 This variables says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7114 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7116 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7117 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7118 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list. The
7119 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7122 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
7123 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7124 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7125 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7126 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
7127 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7128 to you to figure out, I think.
7131 @node The Article Buffer
7132 @chapter The Article Buffer
7133 @cindex article buffer
7135 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7136 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7137 tell Gnus otherwise.
7140 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7141 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
7142 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7143 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7144 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7148 @node Hiding Headers
7149 @section Hiding Headers
7150 @cindex hiding headers
7151 @cindex deleting headers
7153 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7154 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7156 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7157 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7158 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7159 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7160 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7161 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7162 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7163 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7164 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7166 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7170 @item gnus-visible-headers
7171 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7172 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7173 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7174 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7176 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7177 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7180 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7183 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
7186 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7187 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7188 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7189 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7190 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7191 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7193 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
7194 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
7197 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7200 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
7203 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7204 variable will have no effect.
7208 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7209 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7210 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7211 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7212 the headers are to be displayed.
7214 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7215 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7218 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7221 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7222 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers that
7223 are listed in this variable.
7225 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7226 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7227 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7228 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7229 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7230 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7231 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7232 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7233 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
7235 These conditions are:
7238 Remove all empty headers.
7240 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7243 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7244 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7246 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7249 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7253 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
7256 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7257 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
7260 This is also the default value for this variable.
7264 @section Using @sc{mime}
7267 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7268 while people stand around yawning.
7270 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7271 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7273 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7274 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7275 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7277 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7278 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
7279 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7280 @findex metamail-buffer
7281 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7282 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
7283 default. Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7284 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7285 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7286 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7287 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7288 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7290 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
7291 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
7292 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
7293 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
7294 comes streaming out out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
7295 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
7296 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
7297 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
7298 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
7300 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7303 @node Customizing Articles
7304 @section Customizing Articles
7305 @cindex article customization
7307 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7308 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7309 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7310 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7312 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7313 By default this hook just contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
7314 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
7315 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
7316 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7317 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7318 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7319 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
7320 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
7322 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7323 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7324 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7325 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
7326 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
7329 @node Article Keymap
7330 @section Article Keymap
7332 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
7333 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
7334 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
7335 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7338 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7343 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7344 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7345 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7348 @kindex DEL (Article)
7349 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7350 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7353 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7354 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7355 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7356 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7357 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7360 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7361 @findex gnus-article-mail
7362 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7363 given a prefix, include the mail.
7367 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7368 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7369 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7373 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7374 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7375 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7378 @kindex TAB (Article)
7379 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7380 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}. This
7381 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7384 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7385 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7386 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}.
7392 @section Misc Article
7396 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
7397 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
7398 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
7399 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
7402 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
7403 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
7404 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
7405 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
7406 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
7407 the contents of the article buffer.
7409 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7410 @item gnus-article-display-hook
7411 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
7412 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
7413 hiding headers, and the like.
7415 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
7416 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
7417 Hook called in article mode buffers.
7419 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7420 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7421 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
7422 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
7424 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
7425 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
7426 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
7427 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
7428 format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
7432 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
7433 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
7437 @vindex gnus-break-pages
7439 @item gnus-break-pages
7440 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
7441 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
7442 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
7443 paging will not be done.
7445 @item gnus-page-delimiter
7446 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
7447 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
7452 @node Composing Messages
7453 @chapter Composing Messages
7458 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
7459 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
7460 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
7461 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
7462 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
7463 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
7464 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
7467 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
7468 * Post:: Posting and following up.
7469 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
7470 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
7471 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
7472 @c * Posting Styles:: An easier way to configure some key elements.
7473 @c * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
7474 @c * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
7477 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
7478 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
7484 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
7487 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
7488 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
7489 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
7490 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
7498 Variables for composing news articles:
7501 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7502 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7503 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
7504 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
7505 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
7506 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to sent the
7507 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
7508 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
7509 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
7512 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7513 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7514 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
7515 file. It is 1000 by default.
7520 @node Posting Server
7521 @section Posting Server
7523 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
7524 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
7526 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
7528 @vindex gnus-post-method
7530 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
7531 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
7532 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
7533 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
7534 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
7537 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
7540 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
7541 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
7542 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
7543 the ``current'' server for posting.
7545 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
7546 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
7548 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
7549 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
7554 @section Mail and Post
7556 Here's a list of variables that are relevant to both mailing and
7560 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
7561 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
7562 @cindex mailing lists
7564 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists that are
7565 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
7566 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
7567 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
7568 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
7569 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that match the groups that
7570 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
7571 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
7572 still a pain, though.
7576 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
7577 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
7578 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
7581 @findex ispell-message
7583 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
7587 @node Archived Messages
7588 @section Archived Messages
7589 @cindex archived messages
7590 @cindex sent messages
7592 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
7593 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
7594 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
7595 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
7598 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
7599 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
7600 use to store sent messages. The default is:
7604 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive/"))
7607 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
7608 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
7609 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
7610 directory chosen, you could say something like:
7613 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
7614 '(nnfolder "archive"
7615 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
7616 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
7617 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
7620 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
7622 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
7623 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
7624 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
7626 This variable can be:
7630 Messages will be saved in that group.
7631 @item a list of strings
7632 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
7633 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
7634 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
7636 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
7641 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
7643 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
7646 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
7648 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
7651 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
7653 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7654 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
7655 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
7656 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
7661 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7662 '((if (message-news-p)
7667 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
7668 messages in one file per month:
7671 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7672 '((if (message-news-p)
7674 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
7675 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
7678 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
7679 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
7680 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
7681 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
7682 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
7683 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
7684 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
7685 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
7686 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
7687 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
7689 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus also a
7690 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
7691 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
7692 this will disable archiving.
7694 XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
7695 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.
7698 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
7699 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
7700 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
7701 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
7702 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
7705 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
7706 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
7707 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
7710 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
7711 but the latter is the preferred method.
7715 @c @node Posting Styles
7716 @c @section Posting Styles
7717 @c @cindex posting styles
7720 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
7722 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
7723 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
7724 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
7727 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
7728 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
7729 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
7730 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
7731 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
7736 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
7737 @c (organization . "What me?"))
7739 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
7740 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
7741 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
7744 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
7745 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
7746 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
7747 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
7748 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
7749 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
7750 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
7751 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
7753 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
7754 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
7755 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
7756 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
7757 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
7758 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
7761 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
7762 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
7763 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
7764 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
7765 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
7768 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
7769 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
7770 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
7772 @c So here's a new example:
7775 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
7777 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
7778 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
7779 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
7780 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
7782 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
7783 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
7784 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
7785 @c (posting-from-work-p
7786 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
7787 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
7788 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
7790 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
7797 @c If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
7798 @c you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
7799 @c craazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save the
7800 @c message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some other
7801 @c day, and send it when you feel its finished.
7803 @c Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
7804 @c some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
7805 @c automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
7806 @c If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
7807 @c article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
7811 @c @vindex gnus-draft-group-directory
7812 @c The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
7813 @c @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
7814 @c @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{gnus-draft-group-directory}
7815 @c controls both the name of the group and the location---the leaf element
7816 @c in the path will be used as the name of the group. What makes this
7817 @c group special is that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any
7818 @c articles as read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
7820 @c If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
7823 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
7824 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
7825 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
7826 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
7827 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
7828 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
7829 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
7830 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
7831 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
7832 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
7833 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
7834 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
7835 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
7836 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
7838 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
7839 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
7840 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
7842 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-draft
7843 @c @kindex S D c (Summary)
7844 @c When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
7845 @c draft group and push @kbd{S D c} (@code{gnus-summary-send-draft}) to do
7846 @c that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
7848 @c Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
7851 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-all-drafts
7852 @c If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
7853 @c doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{S D a} command
7854 @c (@code{gnus-summary-send-all-drafts}). This command understands the
7855 @c process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7858 @c @node Rejected Articles
7859 @c @section Rejected Articles
7860 @c @cindex rejected articles
7862 @c Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
7863 @c doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
7864 @c @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
7865 @c Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
7867 @c These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
7868 @c (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
7869 @c fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
7870 @c you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
7871 @c articles until some later time when the server feels better.
7873 @c The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
7874 @c (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
7875 @c typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
7878 @node Select Methods
7879 @chapter Select Methods
7880 @cindex foreign groups
7881 @cindex select methods
7883 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group that is not read by the usual (or
7884 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
7885 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
7886 personal mail group.
7888 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
7889 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
7890 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
7891 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
7892 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
7893 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
7895 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
7896 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
7898 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
7901 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
7902 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
7903 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
7904 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
7905 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
7907 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
7910 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
7911 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
7912 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
7913 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
7914 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
7918 @node The Server Buffer
7919 @section The Server Buffer
7921 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
7922 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
7923 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
7924 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
7925 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
7926 backend represents a virtual server.
7928 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
7929 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
7930 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
7931 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
7933 These select methods specifications can sometimes become quite
7934 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
7935 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
7936 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
7937 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
7938 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
7939 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
7941 To enter the server buffer, user the @kbd{^}
7942 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
7945 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
7946 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
7947 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
7948 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
7949 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
7950 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
7951 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
7954 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
7955 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
7958 @node Server Buffer Format
7959 @subsection Server Buffer Format
7960 @cindex server buffer format
7962 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
7963 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
7964 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
7965 variable, with some simple extensions:
7970 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
7973 The name of this server.
7976 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
7979 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
7982 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
7983 The mode line can also be customized by using the
7984 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
7995 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
7998 @node Server Commands
7999 @subsection Server Commands
8000 @cindex server commands
8006 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8007 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8011 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8012 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8015 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8016 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8017 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8021 @findex gnus-server-exit
8022 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8026 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8027 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8031 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8032 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8036 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8037 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8041 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8042 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8046 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8047 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8048 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8053 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8054 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8055 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8056 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8061 @node Example Methods
8062 @subsection Example Methods
8064 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8067 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8070 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8076 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8077 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8080 After these two elements, there may be a arbitrary number of
8081 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
8083 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
8084 port 15 from that machine. This is what the select method should
8088 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
8091 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
8092 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example.
8094 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
8095 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
8096 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
8100 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
8103 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
8106 Here's the method for a public spool:
8110 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
8111 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
8114 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
8115 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
8116 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
8117 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
8118 should probably look something like this:
8122 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
8123 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8124 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8125 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8126 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
8131 @node Creating a Virtual Server
8132 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
8134 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
8135 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
8137 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
8138 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
8139 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
8141 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
8143 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
8144 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
8145 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
8146 will contain the following:
8156 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
8157 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
8158 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
8161 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
8162 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
8163 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
8166 @node Server Variables
8167 @subsection Server Variables
8169 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
8170 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
8171 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
8172 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
8173 won't change the "derived" variables.
8175 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
8176 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
8177 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
8178 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
8179 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
8180 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
8181 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
8182 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
8183 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
8187 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
8188 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
8189 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
8193 @node Servers and Methods
8194 @subsection Servers and Methods
8196 Wherever you would normally use a select method
8197 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
8198 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
8199 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
8203 @node Unavailable Servers
8204 @subsection Unavailable Servers
8206 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
8207 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
8208 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
8209 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
8210 actually the case or not.
8212 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
8213 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to the server
8214 @samp{nepholococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
8215 away from you, the machine is quite, so it takes 1 minute just to find
8216 out that it refuses connection from you today. If Gnus were to attempt
8217 to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't attempt to do
8218 that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'', it will
8219 regard that server as ``down''.
8221 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
8222 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
8224 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
8225 with the following commands:
8231 @findex gnus-server-open-server
8232 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
8233 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
8237 @findex gnus-server-close-server
8238 Close the connection (if any) to the server
8239 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
8243 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
8244 Mark the current server as unreachable
8245 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
8248 @kindex M-o (Server)
8249 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
8250 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
8251 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
8254 @kindex M-c (Server)
8255 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
8256 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
8257 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
8261 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
8262 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from all servers
8263 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
8269 @section Getting News
8270 @cindex reading news
8271 @cindex news backends
8273 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
8274 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
8275 or it can read from a local spool.
8278 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
8279 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
8284 @subsection @sc{nntp}
8287 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
8288 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
8289 server as the, uhm, address.
8291 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
8292 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
8293 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
8294 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8296 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
8297 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
8298 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
8300 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
8305 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
8306 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
8307 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
8309 @cindex authentification
8310 @cindex nntp authentification
8311 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8312 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
8313 @code{nntp-server-opened-hook} is run after a connection has been made.
8314 It can be used to send commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has
8315 been contacted. By default is sends the command @code{MODE READER} to
8316 the server with the @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function.
8318 @item nntp-authinfo-function
8319 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
8320 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
8321 server. Available functions include:
8324 @item nntp-send-authinfo
8325 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8326 This function will used you current login name as the user name and will
8327 prompt you for the password. This is the default.
8329 @item nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8330 @findex nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8331 This function will prompt you for both user name and password.
8333 @item nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8334 @findex nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8335 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
8336 read the @sc{nntp} password from @file{~/.nntp-authinfo}.
8339 @item nntp-server-action-alist
8340 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
8341 This is an list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
8342 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
8343 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
8346 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
8350 You probably don't want to do that, though.
8352 The default value is
8355 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
8356 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook nntp-send-mode-reader)))
8359 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
8360 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
8362 @item nntp-maximum-request
8363 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
8364 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
8365 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
8366 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
8367 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
8368 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
8369 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
8371 @item nntp-connection-timeout
8372 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
8373 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
8374 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
8375 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
8376 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
8377 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
8378 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
8379 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
8380 no timeouts are done.
8382 @item nntp-command-timeout
8383 @vindex nntp-command-timeout
8384 @cindex PPP connections
8385 @cindex dynamic IP addresses
8386 If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
8387 address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
8388 changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
8389 waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
8390 unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
8391 then, if it sits waiting longer than that number of seconds for a reply
8392 from the server, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
8393 the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
8394 likely number is 30 seconds.
8396 @item nntp-retry-on-break
8397 @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
8398 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
8399 hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
8402 @item nntp-server-hook
8403 @vindex nntp-server-hook
8404 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
8407 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
8408 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
8409 @item nntp-open-connection-function
8410 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
8411 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Two pre-made
8412 functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
8413 simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
8414 is @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an rlogin on the remote system,
8415 and then does a telnet to the @sc{nntp} server available there.
8417 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
8418 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
8419 If you use @code{nntp-open-rlogin} as the
8420 @code{nntp-open-connection-function}, this list will be used as the
8421 parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
8423 @item nntp-end-of-line
8424 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
8425 String to use as end-of-line markers when talking to the @sc{nntp}
8426 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
8427 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
8429 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
8430 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
8431 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
8435 @vindex nntp-address
8436 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
8438 @item nntp-port-number
8439 @vindex nntp-port-number
8440 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
8443 @item nntp-buggy-select
8444 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
8445 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
8447 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
8448 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
8449 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
8450 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks whether @sc{nov}
8451 can be used automatically.
8453 @item nntp-xover-commands
8454 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
8457 List of strings that are used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
8458 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
8462 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
8463 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
8464 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
8465 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
8466 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
8467 lines that you do not want, and will not use. This variable says how
8468 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
8469 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
8470 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
8471 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
8472 @code{nntp} will never split requests.
8474 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
8475 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
8476 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
8478 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8479 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8480 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
8481 server closes connection.
8487 @subsection News Spool
8491 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
8492 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
8493 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
8496 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @samp{} (or
8497 anything else) as the address.
8499 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
8500 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
8501 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
8502 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
8506 @item nnspool-inews-program
8507 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
8508 Program used to post an article.
8510 @item nnspool-inews-switches
8511 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
8512 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
8514 @item nnspool-spool-directory
8515 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
8516 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
8517 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
8519 @item nnspool-nov-directory
8520 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
8521 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
8522 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
8524 @item nnspool-lib-dir
8525 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
8526 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
8528 @item nnspool-active-file
8529 @vindex nnspool-active-file
8530 The path of the active file.
8532 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
8533 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
8534 The path of the group descriptions file.
8536 @item nnspool-history-file
8537 @vindex nnspool-history-file
8538 The path of the news history file.
8540 @item nnspool-active-times-file
8541 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
8542 The path of the active date file.
8544 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
8545 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
8546 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
8549 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8550 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8552 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
8553 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
8554 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
8560 @section Getting Mail
8561 @cindex reading mail
8564 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
8568 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
8569 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
8570 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
8571 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
8572 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
8573 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
8574 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
8575 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
8576 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
8577 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
8578 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
8582 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
8583 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
8585 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
8586 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
8587 and things will happen automatically.
8589 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a one file per
8590 mail backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
8593 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
8594 '((nnml "private")))
8597 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
8598 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
8599 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
8600 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
8601 like any other group.
8603 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
8606 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8607 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
8608 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
8612 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
8613 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
8614 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
8617 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
8618 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though,
8619 especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
8622 @node Splitting Mail
8623 @subsection Splitting Mail
8624 @cindex splitting mail
8625 @cindex mail splitting
8627 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
8628 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
8629 to be split into groups.
8632 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8633 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
8634 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
8638 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
8639 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
8640 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
8641 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
8642 determine if it belongs in this mail group.
8644 If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
8645 that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
8648 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
8649 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
8650 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
8651 mail belongs in that group.
8653 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
8654 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
8655 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
8656 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
8657 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
8658 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
8660 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
8661 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
8662 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
8663 message. The function should return a list of groups names that it
8664 thinks should carry this mail message.
8666 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent
8667 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
8668 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
8669 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
8671 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
8672 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
8673 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
8674 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
8675 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
8677 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
8680 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
8681 the crossposted articles. However, not all files systems support hard
8682 links. If that's the case for you, set
8683 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
8684 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
8686 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
8687 @kindex nnmail-split-history
8688 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
8689 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
8691 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
8692 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
8693 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
8694 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
8695 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
8696 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
8697 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
8698 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
8702 @node Mail Backend Variables
8703 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
8705 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
8709 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8710 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8711 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
8712 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
8714 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
8715 @item nnmail-spool-file
8719 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
8720 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
8721 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
8722 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
8723 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
8724 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
8725 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
8726 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
8727 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
8728 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
8729 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
8730 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
8731 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
8732 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
8733 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
8735 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
8737 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
8738 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
8741 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
8742 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
8743 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
8744 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
8745 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
8746 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
8748 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
8749 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8750 @item nnmail-use-procmail
8751 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
8752 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
8753 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
8754 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
8757 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
8758 @item nnmail-crash-box
8759 When the mail backends read a spool file, it is first moved to this
8760 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
8761 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
8764 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8765 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8766 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
8767 used for, well, anything, really.
8769 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
8770 @item nnmail-split-hook
8771 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
8772 @findex RFC1522 decoding
8773 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
8774 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
8775 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
8776 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
8777 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{gnus-article-decode-rfc1522}
8778 is one likely function to add to this hook.
8780 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8781 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8782 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8783 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8784 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
8785 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
8786 starting to handle the new mail) and
8787 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
8788 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
8789 default file modes the new mail files get:
8792 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8793 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
8795 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
8796 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
8799 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
8800 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
8801 This variable says where to move the incoming mail to while processing
8802 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
8803 inhabits (i.e., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
8804 it will be used instead.
8806 @item nnmail-movemail-program
8807 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
8808 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
8809 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
8811 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
8812 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
8815 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
8816 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
8817 @cindex incoming mail files
8818 @cindex deleting incoming files
8819 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
8820 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
8823 @c This is @code{nil} by
8824 @c default for reasons of security.
8826 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
8827 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
8828 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
8829 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure to
8830 not lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
8833 Delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
8835 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
8836 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
8837 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
8838 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories like
8839 @file{mail.misc/}. If it is @code{nil}, the same group will end up in
8842 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
8843 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
8845 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
8850 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
8851 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
8852 @cindex mail splitting
8853 @cindex fancy mail splitting
8855 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
8856 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
8857 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
8858 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
8859 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
8860 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
8862 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
8865 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
8866 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
8867 ;; from real errors.
8868 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
8870 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
8871 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
8872 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
8873 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
8874 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
8875 ;; Other mailing lists...
8876 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
8877 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
8879 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen"))
8880 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
8884 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
8885 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
8886 the five possible split syntaxes:
8891 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
8894 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, and the first
8895 element is a string, then that means that if header FIELD (a regexp)
8896 contains VALUE (also a regexp), then store the message as specified by
8900 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
8901 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
8902 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
8903 be stored in one or more groups.
8906 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
8907 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
8910 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
8911 this message anywhere.
8914 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
8915 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
8916 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
8921 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
8922 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
8923 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
8924 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
8925 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
8927 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
8928 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
8929 are expanded as specified by the variable
8930 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
8931 the car of the cells contains the key, and the cdr contains a string.
8933 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
8934 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
8935 when all this splitting is performed.
8937 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
8938 information in the headers, you can say things like:
8941 (any "debian-\(\\w*\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
8944 That is, do @code{replace-match}-like substitions in the group names.
8947 @node Mail and Procmail
8948 @subsection Mail and Procmail
8953 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
8954 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
8955 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
8956 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
8957 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
8959 This also means that you probably don't want to set
8960 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
8963 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
8964 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
8965 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends (except
8966 @code{nnmh}) actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
8967 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
8968 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
8970 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) what groups
8973 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example.
8975 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
8976 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
8978 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
8979 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
8980 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
8981 to include all your mail groups.
8983 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
8984 method will be created automatically.
8986 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8987 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
8988 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
8989 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
8990 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
8991 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
8992 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
8993 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
8995 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
8996 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
8997 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
8998 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
8999 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
9001 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9002 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directory into an @code{nnmh}
9003 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
9004 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
9005 ever expiring the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is quite,
9008 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
9009 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i. e., the incoming
9010 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
9011 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
9012 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
9015 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
9016 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
9017 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
9018 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
9019 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
9023 @node Incorporating Old Mail
9024 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
9026 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
9027 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
9028 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
9031 Doing so can be quite easy.
9033 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
9034 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
9035 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
9036 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
9037 your @code{nnml} groups.
9043 Go to the group buffer.
9046 Type `G f' and give the path of the mbox file when prompted to create an
9047 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9050 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
9053 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group (@pxref{Setting
9057 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
9058 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
9061 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
9062 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
9063 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
9064 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
9065 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
9067 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
9068 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
9069 using the new mail backend.
9073 @subsection Expiring Mail
9074 @cindex article expiry
9076 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
9077 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
9078 different approach to mail reading.
9080 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
9081 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
9082 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
9083 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
9084 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
9085 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
9088 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
9089 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
9090 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
9091 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
9092 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
9093 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
9094 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
9095 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
9097 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9098 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
9099 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
9100 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
9101 articles that are marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
9102 column in the summary buffer.
9104 Note that making a group auto-expirable don't mean that all read
9105 articles are expired---only the articles that are marked as expirable
9106 will be expired. Also note the using the @kbd{d} command won't make
9107 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
9108 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
9110 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
9111 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
9114 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9115 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
9118 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
9119 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
9121 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
9122 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
9123 doesn't really mix very well.
9125 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
9126 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
9127 expirable article has to live. The default is seven days.
9129 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
9130 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
9131 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
9132 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
9135 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9137 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9139 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
9141 ((string= group "mail.junk")
9143 ((string= group "important")
9149 The group names that this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
9150 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
9152 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
9153 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can be either a number (not
9154 necessarily an integer) or the symbols @code{immediate} or
9157 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
9158 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9160 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9161 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
9162 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
9163 easier for procmail users.
9165 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
9166 By the way, that line up there about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
9167 articles is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
9168 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
9169 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
9170 caution. Even more dangerous is the
9171 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
9172 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
9173 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
9174 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
9175 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
9176 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
9177 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
9180 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
9184 @subsection Washing Mail
9185 @cindex mail washing
9186 @cindex list server brain damage
9187 @cindex incoming mail treatment
9189 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
9190 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
9191 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
9192 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
9193 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
9194 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
9196 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
9197 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
9198 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
9201 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
9202 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
9203 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
9204 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
9207 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9208 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9209 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
9210 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
9213 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9214 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9215 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
9216 Emacs running on MS machines.
9220 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9221 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9222 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
9223 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
9226 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9227 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9228 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
9229 headers too make them look nice. Aaah.
9231 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9232 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9233 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
9234 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
9235 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
9236 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
9237 also be a list of regexp.
9239 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
9240 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
9243 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
9244 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
9247 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
9248 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
9249 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
9253 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9254 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9255 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
9259 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
9260 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
9261 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
9268 @subsection Duplicates
9270 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
9271 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
9272 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
9273 @cindex duplicate mails
9274 If you are a member of a couple of mailing list, you will sometime
9275 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
9276 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
9277 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
9278 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
9279 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
9280 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
9281 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
9282 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
9283 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
9284 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
9285 will generate a brand new @code{Message-ID} for the mail and insert a
9286 warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks that this is a
9287 duplicate of a different message.
9289 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
9290 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
9291 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
9292 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
9294 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
9297 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
9298 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
9302 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
9303 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
9304 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
9305 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
9306 (any mail "mail.misc")
9313 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9314 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
9319 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
9320 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
9321 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
9322 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
9323 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
9326 @node Not Reading Mail
9327 @subsection Not Reading Mail
9329 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
9330 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
9331 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
9333 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
9334 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
9336 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9337 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9338 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9339 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9340 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9341 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
9342 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
9343 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
9344 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
9345 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
9346 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
9348 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
9349 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
9353 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
9354 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
9356 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
9357 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
9358 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
9361 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
9362 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
9363 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
9364 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
9365 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
9370 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
9372 @cindex unix mail box
9374 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9375 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9376 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
9377 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
9378 which group it belongs in.
9380 Virtual server settings:
9383 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
9384 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9385 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
9387 @item nnmbox-active-file
9388 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9389 The name of the active file for the mail box.
9391 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
9392 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9393 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
9399 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
9403 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9404 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9405 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
9406 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
9407 article to say which group it belongs in.
9409 Virtual server settings:
9412 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
9413 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9414 The name of the rmail mbox file.
9416 @item nnbabyl-active-file
9417 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9418 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
9420 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9421 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9422 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
9427 @subsubsection Mail Spool
9429 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
9431 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
9432 format. It should be used with some caution.
9434 @vindex nnml-directory
9435 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files;
9436 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the correct
9437 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
9438 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
9440 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
9443 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
9444 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
9445 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
9446 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
9447 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
9448 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
9449 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
9450 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
9452 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
9453 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
9454 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes is the fastest
9455 backend when it comes to reading mail.
9457 Virtual server settings:
9460 @item nnml-directory
9461 @vindex nnml-directory
9462 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
9464 @item nnml-active-file
9465 @vindex nnml-active-file
9466 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
9468 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
9469 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
9470 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
9473 @item nnml-get-new-mail
9474 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9475 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
9477 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
9478 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
9479 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
9481 @item nnml-nov-file-name
9482 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
9483 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
9485 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9486 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9487 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
9491 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
9492 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
9493 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
9494 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
9495 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
9496 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
9497 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
9502 @subsubsection MH Spool
9504 @cindex mh-e mail spool
9506 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
9507 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
9508 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
9509 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
9511 Virtual server settings:
9514 @item nnmh-directory
9515 @vindex nnmh-directory
9516 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
9518 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
9519 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9520 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
9523 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
9524 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
9525 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
9526 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
9527 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
9528 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
9529 to set this variable to @code{t}.
9534 @subsubsection Mail Folders
9536 @cindex mbox folders
9537 @cindex mail folders
9539 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
9540 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
9541 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
9544 Virtual server settings:
9547 @item nnfolder-directory
9548 @vindex nnfolder-directory
9549 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
9551 @item nnfolder-active-file
9552 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
9553 The name of the active file.
9555 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9556 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9557 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
9559 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
9560 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9561 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
9564 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
9565 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
9566 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
9567 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
9568 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
9569 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
9573 @section Other Sources
9575 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
9576 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
9580 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
9581 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
9582 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
9583 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
9584 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
9585 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
9589 @node Directory Groups
9590 @subsection Directory Groups
9592 @cindex directory groups
9594 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
9595 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
9598 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp}, that most
9599 wonderful of all wonderful Emacs packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I
9600 didn't think much about it---a backend to read directories. Big deal.
9602 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
9603 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
9604 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the the directory name,
9605 @code{ange-ftp} will actually allow you to read this directory over at
9606 @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
9608 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
9610 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
9611 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
9612 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
9613 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
9616 @node Anything Groups
9617 @subsection Anything Groups
9620 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
9621 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
9622 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
9625 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
9626 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
9627 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
9628 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
9629 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
9630 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
9631 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
9632 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
9633 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
9634 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
9637 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
9638 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
9639 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
9640 in the article buffer, just as usual.
9642 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
9643 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
9644 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
9645 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
9647 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
9648 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
9649 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
9650 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
9651 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
9652 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
9653 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
9654 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
9659 @item nneething-map-file-directory
9660 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
9661 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
9662 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
9664 @item nneething-exclude-files
9665 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
9666 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
9667 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
9669 @item nneething-map-file
9670 @vindex nneething-map-file
9671 Name of the map files.
9675 @node Document Groups
9676 @subsection Document Groups
9678 @cindex documentation group
9681 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
9682 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
9689 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
9694 The standard Unix mbox file.
9696 @cindex MMDF mail box
9698 The MMDF mail box format.
9701 Several news articles appended into a file.
9704 @cindex rnews batch files
9705 The rnews batch transport format.
9706 @cindex forwarded messages
9715 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
9716 @cindex RFC 341 digest
9717 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
9719 @item standard-digest
9720 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
9723 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
9726 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
9727 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
9728 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
9731 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
9732 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
9733 group. And that's it.
9735 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
9736 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
9737 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
9738 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
9739 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
9740 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
9741 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
9742 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
9743 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
9744 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
9746 Virtual server variables:
9749 @item nndoc-article-type
9750 @vindex nndoc-article-type
9751 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
9752 @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934}, @code{news}, @code{rnews},
9753 @code{mime-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, or @code{guess}.
9755 @item nndoc-post-type
9756 @vindex nndoc-post-type
9757 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
9758 a mail group. There are two legal values: @code{mail} (the default)
9763 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
9767 @node Document Server Internals
9768 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
9770 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
9771 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
9772 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
9773 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
9775 First, here's an example document type definition:
9779 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
9780 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
9783 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
9784 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
9785 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
9786 types can be defined with very few settings:
9790 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
9791 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
9795 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
9796 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
9798 @item head-begin-function
9799 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
9802 @item nndoc-head-begin
9803 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
9806 @item nndoc-head-end
9807 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
9808 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
9810 @item body-begin-function
9811 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
9815 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
9818 @item body-end-function
9819 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
9823 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
9825 @item nndoc-file-end
9826 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
9827 regexp will be totally ignored.
9831 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
9832 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
9833 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
9834 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
9835 something that's palatable for Gnus:
9838 @item prepare-body-function
9839 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
9840 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
9841 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
9843 @item article-transform-function
9844 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
9845 meant to be used how more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
9846 body of the article.
9848 @item generate-head-function
9849 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
9850 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
9851 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
9852 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
9856 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
9861 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9862 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9863 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
9864 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
9866 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
9867 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
9868 (subtype digest guess))
9871 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
9872 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
9873 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
9874 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
9875 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
9877 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
9878 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
9879 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
9880 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
9881 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for each
9882 type. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
9883 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
9884 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
9885 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
9886 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
9887 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest legal number.
9895 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
9896 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
9897 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
9899 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
9900 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
9901 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
9904 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
9905 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
9906 that interested in doing things properly.
9908 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
9909 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
9912 First some terminology:
9917 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
9918 get news and/or mail from.
9921 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
9922 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
9925 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
9929 @item message packets
9930 These are packets made at the server, and typically contains lots of
9931 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
9932 default, where @var{X} is a number.
9934 @item response packets
9935 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
9936 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
9937 default, where @var{X} is a number.
9947 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
9948 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
9949 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
9950 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
9953 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
9956 You put the packet in your home directory.
9959 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
9960 the native or secondary server.
9963 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
9964 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
9967 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
9971 You transfer this packet to the server.
9974 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
9977 You then repeat until you die.
9981 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
9982 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
9985 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
9986 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
9987 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
9992 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
9994 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
9998 @kindex G s b (Group)
9999 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
10000 Pack all unread articles in the current group
10001 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
10002 process/prefix convention.
10005 @kindex G s w (Group)
10006 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
10007 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
10010 @kindex G s s (Group)
10011 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
10012 Send all replies from the replies packet
10013 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
10016 @kindex G s p (Group)
10017 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
10018 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
10021 @kindex G s r (Group)
10022 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
10023 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
10026 @kindex O s (Summary)
10027 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
10028 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
10029 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
10030 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10035 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
10040 @item gnus-soup-directory
10041 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
10042 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
10043 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
10045 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
10046 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
10047 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
10048 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
10050 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
10051 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
10052 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
10053 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
10055 @item gnus-soup-packer
10056 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
10057 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10058 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
10060 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
10061 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
10062 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10063 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10065 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
10066 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
10067 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
10069 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10070 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10071 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
10072 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
10078 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
10081 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
10082 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
10083 you can read them at leisure.
10085 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
10089 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
10090 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
10091 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
10092 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
10094 @item nnsoup-directory
10095 @vindex nnsoup-directory
10096 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
10097 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
10099 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
10100 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
10101 All replies will stored in this directory before being packed into a
10102 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
10104 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
10105 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
10106 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
10107 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
10108 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
10110 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
10111 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
10112 The index type of the replies packet. The is @samp{?n}, which means
10113 ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
10115 @item nnsoup-active-file
10116 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
10117 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
10118 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
10119 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
10120 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
10122 @item nnsoup-packer
10123 @vindex nnsoup-packer
10124 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
10125 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
10127 @item nnsoup-unpacker
10128 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
10129 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
10130 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10132 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
10133 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
10134 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
10137 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
10138 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
10139 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
10146 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
10148 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
10149 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
10150 more for that to happen.
10152 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
10153 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
10154 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
10157 In specific, this is what it does:
10160 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
10161 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
10164 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
10165 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
10166 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
10170 @subsection Web Searches
10174 @cindex InReference
10175 @cindex Usenet searches
10176 @cindex searching the Usenet
10178 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
10179 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
10180 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
10181 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
10182 searches without having to use a browser.
10184 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
10185 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
10186 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
10187 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
10188 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
10190 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
10191 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
10192 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
10193 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
10194 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@code{Duplicate
10195 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
10196 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
10197 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
10198 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
10199 header---mark all articles that were posted before the last date you
10200 read the group as read.
10202 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
10203 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
10204 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
10205 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
10206 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
10207 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
10209 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
10210 to use @code{nnweb}.
10212 Virtual server variables:
10217 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
10218 are @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
10221 @vindex nnweb-search
10222 The search string to feed to the search engine.
10224 @item nnweb-max-hits
10225 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
10226 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
10229 @item nnweb-type-definition
10230 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
10231 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
10232 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
10237 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
10241 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
10244 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
10247 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
10251 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
10258 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
10259 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
10260 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
10263 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
10264 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
10265 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
10267 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
10273 @item nngateway-address
10274 @vindex nngateway-address
10275 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
10277 @item nngateway-header-transformation
10278 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
10279 News headers have often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
10280 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
10281 transformation should be called, and defaults to
10282 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
10283 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
10286 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
10287 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address---an article with this
10288 @code{Newsgroups} header:
10291 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
10294 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
10297 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
10302 So, to use this, simply say something like:
10305 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
10309 @node Combined Groups
10310 @section Combined Groups
10312 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
10316 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
10317 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
10321 @node Virtual Groups
10322 @subsection Virtual Groups
10324 @cindex virtual groups
10326 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
10329 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small group, you can
10330 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
10331 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
10333 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
10334 regexp to match component groups.
10336 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
10337 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
10338 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
10339 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
10340 the virtual group.)
10342 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
10343 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
10346 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
10349 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
10350 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
10352 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
10353 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
10354 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
10355 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
10358 "^nntp+some.server.jp:soc.motss$\\|^nntp+some.server.no:soc.motss$"
10361 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
10362 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
10363 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
10364 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
10365 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}.
10367 One limitation, however---all groups that are included in a virtual
10368 group has to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
10369 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
10371 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
10372 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
10373 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
10374 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
10375 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
10376 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
10377 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
10378 effect if you have two virtual groups that contain the same component
10379 group. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
10380 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
10381 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
10384 @node Kibozed Groups
10385 @subsection Kibozed Groups
10389 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
10390 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
10391 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
10392 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
10394 @kindex G k (Group)
10395 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
10398 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
10399 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
10400 @code{nnkiboze} group. There most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
10401 and @code{nnvirtual} ends.
10403 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
10404 must have a score file to say what articles that are to be included in
10405 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
10407 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
10408 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
10409 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
10410 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
10411 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
10412 all the articles in all the components groups and run them through the
10413 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
10414 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
10416 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
10417 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
10418 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
10419 Stranger things have happened.
10421 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
10422 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
10424 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
10425 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
10426 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
10427 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
10428 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
10429 on what groups that have been searched through to find component
10432 Articles that are marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have their
10433 @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
10440 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
10441 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
10442 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
10445 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
10446 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
10447 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
10448 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
10449 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
10451 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
10452 before generating the summary buffer.
10454 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
10455 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
10456 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
10458 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
10459 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
10460 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
10461 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
10464 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
10465 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
10466 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
10467 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
10468 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
10469 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
10470 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
10471 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
10472 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
10473 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
10474 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
10475 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
10476 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
10477 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
10478 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
10479 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
10483 @node Summary Score Commands
10484 @section Summary Score Commands
10485 @cindex score commands
10487 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
10488 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
10489 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
10490 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
10491 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
10493 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
10494 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
10495 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
10496 score file the current one.
10498 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
10503 @kindex V s (Summary)
10504 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
10505 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
10508 @kindex V S (Summary)
10509 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
10510 Display the score of the current article
10511 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
10514 @kindex V t (Summary)
10515 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
10516 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
10517 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
10520 @kindex V R (Summary)
10521 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
10522 Run the current summary through the scoring process
10523 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
10524 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
10525 effect you're having.
10528 @kindex V a (Summary)
10529 @findex gnus-summary-score-entry
10530 Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
10531 (@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
10534 @kindex V c (Summary)
10535 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
10536 Make a different score file the current
10537 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
10540 @kindex V e (Summary)
10541 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
10542 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
10543 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
10547 @kindex V f (Summary)
10548 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
10549 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
10550 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
10553 @kindex V F (Summary)
10554 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
10555 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
10556 after editing score files.
10559 @kindex V C (Summary)
10560 @findex gnus-score-customize
10561 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
10562 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
10565 @kindex I C-i (Summary)
10566 @findex gnus-summary-raise-score
10567 Increase the score of the current article
10568 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-score}).
10571 @kindex L C-l (Summary)
10572 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
10573 Lower the score of the current article
10574 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-score}).
10577 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
10582 @kindex V m (Summary)
10583 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
10584 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
10585 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
10588 @kindex V x (Summary)
10589 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
10590 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
10591 expunge all articles below this score
10592 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
10595 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
10596 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
10601 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
10602 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
10604 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
10605 keys are available:
10609 Score on the author name.
10612 Score on the subject line.
10615 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
10618 Score on thread---the References line.
10624 Score on the number of lines.
10627 Score on the Message-ID.
10630 Score on followups.
10640 The third key is the match type. Which match types are legal depends on
10641 what headers you are scoring on.
10653 Substring matching.
10656 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
10685 Greater than number.
10690 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
10691 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
10692 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
10696 Temporary score entry.
10699 Permanent score entry.
10702 Immediately scoring.
10707 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
10708 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
10709 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
10710 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
10712 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
10713 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
10714 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
10715 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
10716 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
10718 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
10719 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
10720 pretend they are keymaps or not.
10723 @node Group Score Commands
10724 @section Group Score Commands
10725 @cindex group score commands
10727 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
10732 @kindex W f (Group)
10733 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
10734 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
10735 all the time. This command will flush the cache
10736 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
10741 @node Score Variables
10742 @section Score Variables
10743 @cindex score variables
10747 @item gnus-use-scoring
10748 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
10749 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
10750 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
10752 @item gnus-kill-killed
10753 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
10754 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
10755 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
10756 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
10757 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
10758 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
10759 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
10761 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
10762 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
10763 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
10764 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
10765 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
10767 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
10768 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
10769 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
10770 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
10772 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
10773 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
10774 @cindex score cache
10775 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
10776 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
10777 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files that are
10778 unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
10779 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
10780 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
10781 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
10784 @item gnus-save-score
10785 @vindex gnus-save-score
10786 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
10787 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
10788 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
10790 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
10791 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
10792 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
10793 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
10794 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
10795 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
10796 manually entered data.
10798 @item gnus-summary-default-score
10799 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
10800 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
10802 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
10803 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
10804 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
10805 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
10806 articles will be hidden.
10808 @item gnus-score-over-mark
10809 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
10810 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
10811 default. Default is @samp{+}.
10813 @item gnus-score-below-mark
10814 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
10815 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
10816 default. Default is @samp{-}.
10818 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
10819 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
10820 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
10821 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
10823 Predefined functions available are:
10826 @item gnus-score-find-single
10827 @findex gnus-score-find-single
10828 Only apply the group's own score file.
10830 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
10831 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
10832 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
10833 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
10834 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
10835 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
10836 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
10837 then a regexp match is done.
10839 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
10840 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
10842 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
10843 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
10844 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
10845 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
10847 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10848 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10849 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
10850 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
10851 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
10854 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
10855 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
10856 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
10857 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
10858 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
10859 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
10862 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
10863 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
10864 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
10865 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
10866 are expired. It's 7 by default.
10868 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10869 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10870 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
10871 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
10872 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
10873 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
10874 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
10877 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10878 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10879 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
10884 @node Score File Format
10885 @section Score File Format
10886 @cindex score file format
10888 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
10889 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
10890 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
10892 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
10896 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
10898 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
10900 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
10902 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
10907 (mark-and-expunge -10)
10911 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
10912 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
10913 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
10914 (gnus-summary-make-false-root 'empty))
10918 This example demonstrates absolutely everything about a score file.
10920 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
10921 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
10922 has to be legal syntactically, if not semantically.
10924 Six keys are supported by this alist:
10929 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
10930 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
10931 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
10932 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
10933 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
10934 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
10935 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
10936 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
10937 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
10938 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
10939 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
10940 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
10941 to articles that matches these score entries.
10943 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
10944 score entry has one to four elements.
10948 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
10949 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
10953 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
10954 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
10955 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
10956 is successful. If this element is not present, the
10957 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
10958 instead. This is 1000 by default.
10961 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
10962 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
10963 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
10964 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
10965 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
10968 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
10969 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
10970 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
10971 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
10974 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
10975 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
10976 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
10977 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
10978 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
10979 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
10980 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
10981 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
10982 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
10983 instead, if you feel like.
10986 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
10987 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}. When matching on @code{Lines}, be
10988 careful because some backends (like @code{nndir}) do not generate
10989 @code{Lines} header, so every article ends up being marked as having 0
10990 lines. This can lead to strange results if you happen to lower score of
10991 the articles with few lines.
10994 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
10995 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
10996 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
10997 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
10998 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
10999 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
11000 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
11004 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
11005 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
11006 ISO8601 compact format first---@samp{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS}. If you want to
11007 match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in every year, you
11008 could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string, for instance.
11009 (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so this will
11010 match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where the article
11011 was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the whole
11014 @item Head, Body, All
11015 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
11019 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
11020 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
11021 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
11022 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
11023 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
11024 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
11028 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
11029 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread that is
11030 started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
11031 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
11032 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
11033 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
11034 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
11035 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
11036 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
11037 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread.
11042 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
11043 lower than this number will be marked as read.
11046 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
11047 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
11049 @item mark-and-expunge
11050 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
11051 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
11054 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
11055 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
11056 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
11057 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
11058 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
11061 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
11062 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
11065 @item exclude-files
11066 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
11067 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
11071 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
11072 ignored when handling global score files.
11075 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
11076 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
11079 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
11080 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
11081 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
11082 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
11084 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
11088 (mark-and-expunge -100)
11091 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
11092 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
11093 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
11094 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
11095 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
11097 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
11098 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
11099 ordinary scoring rules.
11102 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
11103 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
11104 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
11105 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
11106 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
11107 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
11108 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
11109 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
11110 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
11111 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
11112 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
11116 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
11117 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
11118 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
11119 file for a number of groups.
11122 @cindex local variables
11123 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
11124 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
11125 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
11126 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
11131 @node Score File Editing
11132 @section Score File Editing
11134 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
11135 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
11136 with a mode for that.
11138 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
11139 additional commands:
11144 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
11145 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
11146 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
11147 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
11150 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
11151 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
11152 Insert the current date in numerical format
11153 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
11154 you were wondering.
11157 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
11158 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
11159 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
11160 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
11161 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
11166 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
11168 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
11169 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
11171 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
11172 e} to begin editing score files.
11175 @node Adaptive Scoring
11176 @section Adaptive Scoring
11177 @cindex adaptive scoring
11179 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
11180 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
11181 stupidity, to be precise.
11183 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
11184 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
11185 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
11186 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
11187 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
11188 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
11189 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
11190 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
11191 variable to @code{(word line)}.
11193 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
11194 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
11195 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
11196 might look something like this:
11199 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
11200 '((gnus-unread-mark)
11201 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
11202 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
11203 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
11204 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
11205 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
11206 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
11207 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
11208 (gnus-ancient-mark)
11209 (gnus-low-score-mark)
11210 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
11213 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
11214 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
11215 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
11216 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
11217 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
11218 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
11221 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
11222 will be applied to each article.
11224 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
11225 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
11226 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
11227 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
11229 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
11230 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
11231 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
11232 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
11234 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
11235 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
11236 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
11237 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
11239 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
11240 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
11241 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
11242 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
11243 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
11244 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
11246 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
11247 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
11248 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
11249 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
11250 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
11251 aspirins afterwards.)
11253 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
11254 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
11255 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
11257 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
11258 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
11259 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
11261 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
11262 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
11263 let you use different rules in different groups.
11265 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
11266 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
11267 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
11270 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
11271 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
11272 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
11273 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
11274 the length of the match is less than
11275 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
11276 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
11279 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
11280 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
11281 headers. If you adapt on words, the
11282 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
11283 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
11286 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
11287 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
11288 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
11289 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
11290 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
11293 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
11294 word that appears in subjects of articles that are marked with
11295 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
11296 score with 30 points.
11298 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
11299 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
11300 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
11301 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
11302 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
11304 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
11305 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
11306 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
11307 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
11309 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
11310 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
11311 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
11313 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
11314 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
11315 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
11316 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
11319 @node Home Score File
11320 @section Home Score File
11322 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
11323 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
11324 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
11325 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
11327 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
11328 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
11329 could perhaps use the same home score file.
11331 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
11332 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
11337 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
11341 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
11342 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
11346 A list. The elements in this list can be:
11350 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
11351 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
11354 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
11355 the home score file.
11358 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
11361 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
11366 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
11369 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11370 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
11373 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
11374 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
11377 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11378 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
11381 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
11383 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
11384 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
11385 their own home score files:
11388 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11389 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
11390 '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
11391 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
11392 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
11395 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
11396 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
11397 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
11398 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
11399 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
11401 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
11402 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
11403 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
11404 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
11405 precedence over this variable.
11408 @node Followups To Yourself
11409 @section Followups To Yourself
11411 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
11412 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
11413 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
11414 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
11415 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
11416 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
11420 @item gnus-score-followup-article
11421 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
11422 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
11425 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
11426 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
11427 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
11431 @vindex message-sent-hook
11432 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
11433 @code{message-sent-hook}.
11435 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
11436 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
11440 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
11441 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
11444 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
11445 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
11450 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf@@.*eyesore.no>" 1000 nil r))
11453 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
11454 is system-dependent.
11458 @section Scoring Tips
11459 @cindex scoring tips
11465 @cindex scoring crossposts
11466 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
11467 the @code{Xref} header.
11469 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
11472 @item Multiple crossposts
11473 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
11474 more than, say, 3 groups:
11476 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
11479 @item Matching on the body
11480 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
11481 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
11482 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
11483 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
11484 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
11485 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
11486 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
11489 @item Marking as read
11490 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
11491 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
11492 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
11496 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
11498 @item Negated character classes
11499 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
11500 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
11501 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
11505 @node Reverse Scoring
11506 @section Reverse Scoring
11507 @cindex reverse scoring
11509 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
11510 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
11511 like this in your score file:
11515 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
11520 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
11521 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
11524 @node Global Score Files
11525 @section Global Score Files
11526 @cindex global score files
11528 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
11529 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
11530 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
11532 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
11533 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
11534 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
11536 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
11537 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
11538 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
11539 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
11540 files are applicable to which group.
11542 Say you want to use the score file
11543 @file{/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
11544 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
11547 (setq gnus-global-score-files
11548 '("/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
11549 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
11552 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
11553 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
11554 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
11555 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
11556 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
11558 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
11559 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
11561 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
11562 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
11563 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
11564 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
11565 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
11566 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
11568 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
11574 Articles that are heavily crossposted are probably junk.
11576 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
11578 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
11580 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
11581 lowered out of existence.
11583 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
11584 articles completely.
11587 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
11588 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
11589 old articles for a long time.
11592 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
11593 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
11594 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
11595 holding our breath yet?
11599 @section Kill Files
11602 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
11603 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
11604 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
11606 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
11607 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
11608 files into score files.
11610 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
11611 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
11612 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
11613 that isn't a very good idea.
11615 Normal kill files look like this:
11618 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11619 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
11623 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove them from
11624 the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
11626 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
11627 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
11630 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
11635 @kindex M-k (Summary)
11636 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
11637 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
11640 @kindex M-K (Summary)
11641 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
11642 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
11645 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
11650 @kindex M-k (Group)
11651 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
11652 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
11655 @kindex M-K (Group)
11656 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
11657 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
11660 Kill file variables:
11663 @item gnus-kill-file-name
11664 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
11665 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
11666 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
11667 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
11668 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
11669 course) is called just @file{KILL}.
11671 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
11672 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
11673 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
11674 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
11677 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
11678 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
11679 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
11680 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
11681 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
11682 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
11683 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
11684 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
11685 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
11687 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
11688 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
11689 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
11694 @node Converting Kill Files
11695 @section Converting Kill Files
11697 @cindex converting kill files
11699 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
11700 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
11701 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
11704 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
11705 You can fetch it from
11706 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
11708 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
11709 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
11710 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
11718 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
11719 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
11720 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
11722 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
11723 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
11724 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
11725 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
11726 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
11727 Once it has found for you some people you agree with it tells you, in
11728 the form of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use
11729 this prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
11733 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
11734 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
11735 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
11736 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
11740 @node Using GroupLens
11741 @subsection Using GroupLens
11743 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
11745 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
11746 better bit in town is at the moment.
11748 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
11752 @item gnus-use-grouplens
11753 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
11754 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
11755 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
11757 @item grouplens-pseudonym
11758 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
11759 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
11760 with the Better Bit Bureau.
11762 @item grouplens-newsgroups
11763 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
11764 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
11768 Thats the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
11769 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
11770 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
11771 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
11772 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
11773 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
11776 @node Rating Articles
11777 @subsection Rating Articles
11779 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
11780 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
11781 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
11782 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
11785 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
11790 @kindex r (GroupLens)
11791 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
11792 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
11795 @kindex k (GroupLens)
11796 @findex grouplens-score-thread
11797 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
11798 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
11799 threads in rec.humor.
11803 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
11804 the score of the article you're reading.
11809 @kindex n (GroupLens)
11810 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
11811 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
11814 @kindex , (GroupLens)
11815 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
11816 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
11820 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
11821 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
11824 @node Displaying Predictions
11825 @subsection Displaying Predictions
11827 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
11828 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
11829 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
11830 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
11831 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
11833 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
11834 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
11835 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
11836 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
11837 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
11838 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
11839 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
11840 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
11841 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
11842 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
11843 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
11844 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
11845 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
11847 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
11848 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
11849 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
11850 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
11852 The following are legal values for that variable.
11855 @item prediction-spot
11856 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
11859 @item confidence-interval
11860 A numeric confidence interval.
11862 @item prediction-bar
11863 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
11865 @item confidence-bar
11866 Numerical confidence.
11868 @item confidence-spot
11869 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
11871 @item prediction-num
11872 Plain-old numeric value.
11874 @item confidence-plus-minus
11875 Prediction +/i confidence.
11880 @node GroupLens Variables
11881 @subsection GroupLens Variables
11885 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
11886 The summary line format used in summary buffers that are GroupLens
11887 enhanced. It accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format
11888 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). The default is
11889 @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
11891 @item grouplens-bbb-host
11892 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
11895 @item grouplens-bbb-port
11896 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
11898 @item grouplens-score-offset
11899 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
11900 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
11903 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
11904 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
11905 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
11910 @node Advanced Scoring
11911 @section Advanced Scoring
11913 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
11914 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
11915 about a particular subject? Or what about if you really don't want to
11916 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
11917 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
11919 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
11923 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
11924 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
11925 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
11929 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
11930 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
11932 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
11933 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
11934 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
11935 non-@code{nil} value.
11937 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
11938 operator, and various match operators.
11945 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11946 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
11947 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
11952 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11953 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
11954 then this operator will return @code{false}.
11959 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
11960 inverse of the value of its argument.
11964 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
11965 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
11966 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
11967 current article. @code{2-} will make score fules apply to the
11968 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
11969 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) say how far back into
11970 the ancestry you want to go.
11972 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
11973 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
11974 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
11975 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
11976 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
11979 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
11980 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
11982 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
11983 when he's talking about Gnus:
11987 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11988 ("subject" "Gnus"))
11994 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
11998 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12005 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
12006 really don't want to read what he's written:
12010 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12011 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
12015 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
12016 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
12017 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
12024 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
12025 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
12026 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
12027 ("body" "white.*socks"))
12031 The possibilities are endless.
12034 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
12035 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
12037 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
12038 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
12039 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
12040 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
12041 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
12042 (@samp{body}, @code{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
12043 @samp{subject}) first.
12045 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
12046 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
12057 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
12058 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
12064 ("subject" "Gnus")))
12071 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
12072 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
12077 @section Score Decays
12078 @cindex score decays
12081 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
12082 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
12083 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
12084 use them in any sensible way.
12086 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
12087 @findex gnus-decay-score
12088 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
12089 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
12090 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
12091 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
12092 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
12093 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
12094 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
12095 definition of that function:
12098 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
12101 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
12103 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
12105 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
12108 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
12109 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
12110 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
12111 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
12115 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
12118 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
12121 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
12125 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
12126 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
12127 the new score, which should be an integer.
12129 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
12130 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
12137 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
12138 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
12139 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
12140 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
12141 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
12142 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
12143 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
12144 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
12145 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
12146 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
12147 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
12148 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
12149 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
12150 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
12151 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
12152 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
12156 @node Process/Prefix
12157 @section Process/Prefix
12158 @cindex process/prefix convention
12160 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
12161 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
12163 This is a method for figuring out what articles that the user wants the
12164 command to be performed on.
12168 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
12169 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
12170 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
12171 with the current one.
12173 @vindex transient-mark-mode
12174 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
12175 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
12177 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
12178 process mark, perform the operation on the articles that are marked with
12181 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
12182 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
12184 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
12187 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
12188 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
12189 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
12190 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
12192 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
12193 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
12194 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
12195 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
12196 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
12197 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
12198 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
12199 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
12203 @section Interactive
12204 @cindex interaction
12208 @item gnus-novice-user
12209 @vindex gnus-novice-user
12210 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
12211 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
12212 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
12213 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
12216 @item gnus-expert-user
12217 @vindex gnus-expert-user
12218 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
12219 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
12220 matter how strange.
12222 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
12223 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
12224 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
12225 is @code{t} by default.
12227 @item gnus-interactive-exit
12228 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
12229 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
12234 @node Formatting Variables
12235 @section Formatting Variables
12236 @cindex formatting variables
12238 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables that
12239 are called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
12240 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
12241 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
12242 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
12245 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
12246 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
12247 lots of percentages everywhere.
12250 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
12251 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
12252 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
12253 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
12256 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
12257 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
12258 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
12259 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
12260 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
12261 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
12262 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
12263 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
12265 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
12266 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
12268 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
12269 @findex gnus-update-format
12270 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
12271 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
12272 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
12273 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
12277 @node Formatting Basics
12278 @subsection Formatting Basics
12280 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
12281 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
12282 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
12284 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
12285 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
12286 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
12287 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
12288 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
12291 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
12292 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
12293 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
12294 less than 4 characters wide.
12297 @node Advanced Formatting
12298 @subsection Advanced Formatting
12300 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
12301 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
12302 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
12303 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
12305 These are the legal modifiers:
12310 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
12314 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
12319 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
12322 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
12327 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
12330 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
12333 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
12336 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
12340 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
12341 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
12342 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
12343 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
12344 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
12345 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
12346 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
12348 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
12349 last operation, padding.
12351 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
12352 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
12353 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
12354 @xref{Compilation}.
12357 @node User-Defined Specs
12358 @subsection User-Defined Specs
12360 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
12361 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
12362 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
12363 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
12364 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
12365 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
12366 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
12367 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
12368 should protect against that.
12370 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
12371 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
12372 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
12373 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
12377 @node Formatting Fonts
12378 @subsection Formatting Fonts
12380 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
12381 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
12382 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
12383 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
12386 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
12387 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
12388 default. If you say @samp{%1[} instead, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1}
12389 instead, and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes
12390 for the @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
12391 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
12393 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
12396 ;; Create three face types.
12397 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
12398 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
12400 ;; We want the article count to be in
12401 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
12402 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
12403 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
12405 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
12406 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
12408 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
12409 (setq gnus-group-line-format
12410 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
12413 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
12414 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
12416 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
12417 mode-line variables.
12420 @node Windows Configuration
12421 @section Windows Configuration
12422 @cindex windows configuration
12424 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
12426 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
12427 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
12428 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
12429 @code{t} by default.
12431 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
12432 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
12433 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
12436 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
12437 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
12438 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
12442 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
12443 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
12444 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
12445 possible names is listed below.
12447 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
12448 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
12451 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
12455 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
12456 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
12457 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
12458 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
12459 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
12460 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
12461 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
12462 size spec per split.
12464 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
12467 Here's a more complicated example:
12470 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
12471 (summary 0.25 point)
12472 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
12476 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
12477 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
12478 occupy, not a percentage.
12480 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
12481 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
12482 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
12483 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
12484 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
12487 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
12490 (article (horizontal 1.0
12495 (summary 0.25 point)
12500 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
12501 @code{horizontal} thingie?
12503 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
12504 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
12505 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
12506 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
12507 the screen is to be given to this strip.
12509 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
12510 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
12511 lines from the splits.
12513 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a legal split
12517 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
12518 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
12519 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
12520 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
12521 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
12522 size = number | frame-params
12523 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
12526 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
12527 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
12528 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
12529 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
12531 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
12532 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
12533 @cindex window height
12534 @cindex window width
12535 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
12536 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
12537 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
12538 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
12539 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
12540 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
12542 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
12543 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
12544 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
12545 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
12547 @findex gnus-configure-frame
12548 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
12549 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
12550 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
12551 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
12552 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
12553 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
12554 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
12555 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
12556 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
12557 configuration list.
12560 (gnus-configure-frame
12564 (article 0.3 point))
12572 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
12573 @code{frame} split:
12576 (gnus-configure-frame
12579 (summary 0.25 point)
12581 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
12582 (user-position . t)
12583 (left . -1) (top . 1))
12588 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
12589 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
12590 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
12591 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
12592 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
12593 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
12596 Here's a list of all possible keys for
12597 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
12599 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
12600 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
12601 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
12602 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
12603 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
12604 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}.
12606 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
12607 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
12608 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
12612 (message (horizontal 1.0
12613 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
12615 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
12620 @findex gnus-add-configuration
12621 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
12622 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
12623 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
12624 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
12627 (gnus-add-configuration
12628 '(article (vertical 1.0
12630 (summary .25 point)
12634 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
12635 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
12636 Gnus has been loaded.
12638 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
12639 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
12640 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
12641 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
12642 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
12646 @section Compilation
12647 @cindex compilation
12648 @cindex byte-compilation
12650 @findex gnus-compile
12652 Remember all those line format specification variables?
12653 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
12654 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
12655 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
12656 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
12657 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
12660 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
12661 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
12662 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
12663 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
12664 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
12665 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
12666 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
12670 @section Mode Lines
12673 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
12674 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
12675 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
12676 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
12677 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
12678 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
12679 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
12682 @cindex display-time
12684 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
12685 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
12686 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
12687 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
12688 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
12689 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
12690 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
12691 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
12694 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
12696 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
12697 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
12699 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
12700 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
12701 (length display-time-string)))))
12704 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
12705 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either.
12706 Note that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the
12707 percentage complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line;
12708 the user should configure this variable appropriately for their
12712 @node Highlighting and Menus
12713 @section Highlighting and Menus
12715 @cindex highlighting
12718 @vindex gnus-visual
12719 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the prettifying Gnus
12720 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
12721 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
12724 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
12725 following elements are legal, and are all included by default:
12728 @item group-highlight
12729 Do highlights in the group buffer.
12730 @item summary-highlight
12731 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
12732 @item article-highlight
12733 Do highlights in the article buffer.
12735 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
12737 Create menus in the group buffer.
12739 Create menus in the summary buffers.
12741 Create menus in the article buffer.
12743 Create menus in the browse buffer.
12745 Create menus in the server buffer.
12747 Create menus in the score buffers.
12749 Create menus in all buffers.
12752 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
12753 buffers, you could say something like:
12756 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
12759 If you want only highlighting and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
12762 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
12765 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
12766 in all Gnus buffers.
12768 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
12771 @item gnus-mouse-face
12772 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
12773 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
12774 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
12778 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
12782 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
12783 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
12784 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
12786 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
12787 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
12788 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
12790 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
12791 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
12792 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
12794 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
12795 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
12796 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
12798 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
12799 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
12800 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
12802 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
12803 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
12804 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
12815 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
12816 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
12817 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
12818 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
12819 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
12823 @vindex gnus-carpal
12824 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
12825 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
12826 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
12831 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
12832 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
12833 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
12835 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
12836 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
12837 Face used on buttons.
12839 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
12840 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
12841 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
12843 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
12844 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
12845 Buttons in the group buffer.
12847 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
12848 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
12849 Buttons in the summary buffer.
12851 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
12852 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
12853 Buttons in the server buffer.
12855 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
12856 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
12857 Buttons in the browse buffer.
12860 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
12861 is either a cons cell where the car contains a text to be displayed and
12862 the cdr contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
12870 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
12871 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
12872 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
12873 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
12874 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
12876 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
12877 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
12878 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
12880 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
12881 been idle for thirty minutes:
12884 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12887 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
12891 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
12894 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter works together
12895 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
12896 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12898 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
12899 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
12900 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
12901 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12903 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
12904 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
12905 @var{idle} minutes.
12907 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
12908 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
12911 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
12912 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
12913 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
12915 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
12916 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
12917 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
12918 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
12920 @vindex gnus-use-demon
12921 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
12922 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
12924 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
12925 your @file{.gnus} file:
12927 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
12929 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12932 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
12933 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
12934 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
12935 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
12936 Some ready-made functions to do this has been created:
12937 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
12938 @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just
12939 put those functions in your @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
12941 @findex gnus-demon-init
12942 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
12943 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
12944 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
12945 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
12946 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
12948 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
12949 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
12950 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
12959 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
12960 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
12962 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
12963 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
12964 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
12965 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
12968 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
12969 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
12970 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
12971 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
12973 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
12974 this will make spam disappear.
12976 There are some variables to customize, of course:
12979 @item gnus-use-nocem
12980 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
12981 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
12984 @item gnus-nocem-groups
12985 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
12986 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
12987 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
12988 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
12990 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
12991 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
12992 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
12993 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
12994 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;" "jem@@xpat.com;" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
12995 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
12997 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
13000 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
13001 @cindex Chris Lewis
13002 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
13003 usenet abuse than anybody else.
13006 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
13007 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
13008 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
13010 @item jem@@xpat.com;
13012 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
13015 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
13016 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
13017 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
13020 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
13021 ones you want to listen to.
13023 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
13024 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
13026 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
13027 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
13028 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
13029 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
13031 @item gnus-nocem-directory
13032 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
13033 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
13034 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
13036 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
13037 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
13038 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
13039 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
13040 might then see old spam.
13048 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
13049 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
13050 over your shoulder as you read news.
13053 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
13054 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
13055 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
13056 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
13057 * Picon Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
13062 @subsection Picon Basics
13064 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
13067 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
13068 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
13069 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
13070 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
13071 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
13072 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
13073 @code{GIF} formats.
13076 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases, point
13077 your Web browser at
13078 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
13080 @vindex gnus-picons-database
13081 Gnus expects picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
13082 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
13085 @node Picon Requirements
13086 @subsection Picon Requirements
13088 To use have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
13089 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
13092 Additionally, you must have @code{xpm} support compiled into XEmacs.
13094 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
13095 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you must have
13096 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
13097 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
13101 @subsection Easy Picons
13103 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
13104 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
13107 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
13108 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
13109 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-prepare-hook 'gnus-group-display-picons t)
13110 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
13115 @subsection Hard Picons
13117 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
13118 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
13119 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
13120 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
13121 feature, you need to first decide where to display them.
13125 @item gnus-picons-display-where
13126 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
13127 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
13128 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
13129 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
13130 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
13131 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
13132 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
13136 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
13137 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
13139 Now that you've made that decision, you need to add the following
13140 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get
13141 displayed at the right time.
13143 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
13144 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
13146 @item gnus-article-display-picons
13147 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
13148 Looks up and display the picons for the author and the author's domain
13149 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to
13150 the @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
13152 @item gnus-group-display-picons
13153 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
13154 Displays picons representing the current group. This function should
13155 be added to the @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook} or to the
13156 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} if @code{gnus-picons-display-where}
13157 is set to @code{article}.
13159 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
13160 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
13161 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
13162 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
13166 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
13167 to the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
13170 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
13174 @node Picon Configuration
13175 @subsection Picon Configuration
13177 The following variables offer further control over how things are
13178 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
13179 don't need to worry about.
13182 @item gnus-picons-database
13183 @vindex gnus-picons-database
13184 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
13185 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
13186 subdirectories. Defaults to @file{/usr/local/faces}.
13188 @item gnus-picons-news-directory
13189 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directory
13190 Sub-directory of the faces database containing the icons for
13193 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
13194 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
13195 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
13196 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc/MISC")} is the default.
13198 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
13199 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
13200 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
13201 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
13202 want to add @samp{unknown} to this list.
13204 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
13205 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
13206 The command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
13207 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
13208 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
13209 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
13211 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
13212 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
13213 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
13214 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
13216 @item gnus-picons-buffer
13217 @vindex gnus-picons-buffer
13218 The name of the buffer that @code{picons} points to. Defaults to
13219 @samp{*Icon Buffer*}.
13228 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
13229 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
13230 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
13232 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
13233 Gnus---it's all just data that is designed to look nice to the user.
13234 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
13235 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
13236 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
13237 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
13238 @code{undo} function.
13240 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
13241 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
13242 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
13243 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
13244 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
13245 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
13246 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
13247 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
13248 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
13249 never be totally undoable.
13251 @findex gnus-undo-mode
13252 @vindex gnus-use-undo
13254 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
13255 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
13256 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
13257 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
13262 @section Moderation
13265 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
13266 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
13267 @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
13270 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
13274 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
13277 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
13279 If you are the moderation of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
13284 You split your incoming mail by matching on
13285 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
13286 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
13289 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
13290 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
13293 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
13294 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
13298 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
13301 (setq gnus-moderated-list
13302 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
13306 @node XEmacs Enhancements
13307 @section XEmacs Enhancements
13310 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
13311 advantage of that. Relevant variables include:
13314 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
13315 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
13316 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
13317 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
13318 unusual directory structure.
13320 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
13321 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
13322 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
13323 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
13325 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
13326 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
13327 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
13328 Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
13329 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
13330 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
13332 @item gnus-use-toolbar
13333 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
13334 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
13335 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
13336 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
13338 @item gnus-group-toolbar
13339 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
13340 The toolbar in the group buffer.
13342 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
13343 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
13344 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
13346 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
13347 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
13348 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
13350 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
13351 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
13352 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
13358 @node Fuzzy Matching
13359 @section Fuzzy Matching
13360 @cindex fuzzy matching
13362 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
13363 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
13365 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
13366 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
13367 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
13369 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
13370 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
13371 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
13372 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
13373 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
13376 @node Various Various
13377 @section Various Various
13383 @item gnus-directory
13384 @vindex gnus-directory
13385 All Gnus directories will be initialized from this variable, which
13386 defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or @file{~/News/}
13387 if that variable isn't set.
13389 @item gnus-default-directory
13390 @vindex gnus-default-directory
13391 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
13392 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
13393 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
13394 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
13395 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
13396 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
13399 @vindex gnus-verbose
13400 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
13401 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
13402 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
13403 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
13404 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
13406 @item gnus-verbose-backends
13407 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
13408 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
13409 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
13411 @item nnheader-max-head-length
13412 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
13413 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
13414 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
13415 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
13416 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
13417 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
13418 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
13419 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
13422 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
13423 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
13424 This variable says how big a piece of each article to read when doing
13425 the operation described above.
13427 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13428 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13430 @cindex illegal characters in file names
13431 @cindex characters in file names
13432 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
13433 For instance, if @samp{:} is illegal as a file character in file names
13434 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
13437 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13441 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
13442 Windows (phooey) systems.
13444 @item gnus-hidden-properties
13445 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
13446 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
13447 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
13448 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
13450 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
13451 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
13452 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
13453 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
13454 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
13456 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
13457 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
13458 String used to separate to shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
13467 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
13468 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
13470 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
13472 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
13478 Not because of victories @*
13481 but for the common sunshine,@*
13483 the largess of the spring.
13487 but for the day's work done@*
13488 as well as I was able;@*
13489 not for a seat upon the dais@*
13490 but at the common table.@*
13495 @chapter Appendices
13498 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
13499 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
13500 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
13501 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
13502 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
13503 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
13504 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
13512 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
13513 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
13515 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
13516 can point your (feh!) web browser to
13517 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
13518 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
13519 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
13521 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
13522 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
13523 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
13524 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
13525 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
13526 appropriate name, don't you think?)
13528 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
13529 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
13530 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
13531 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
13533 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
13534 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
13535 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
13537 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
13538 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
13540 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
13541 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4''.
13543 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a name that is prefixed --
13544 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
13545 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
13546 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
13547 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
13551 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
13552 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
13553 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
13554 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
13555 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
13556 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
13557 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
13564 What's the point of Gnus?
13566 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
13567 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
13568 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
13569 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
13570 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
13571 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
13572 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
13573 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
13574 keep track of millions of people who post?
13576 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
13577 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
13578 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
13579 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
13580 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
13581 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
13582 everywhere I could imagine useful. By doing so, I'm inviting every one
13583 of you to explore and invent.
13585 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x hail-emacs}.
13588 @node Compatibility
13589 @subsection Compatibility
13591 @cindex compatibility
13592 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
13593 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
13594 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
13599 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
13603 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
13606 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @pxref{Decoding
13609 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
13610 buffers. All variables that are relevant while reading a group are
13611 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
13612 important variables have their values copied into their global
13613 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
13614 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
13616 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
13617 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
13618 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
13619 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
13620 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
13624 @cindex highlighting
13625 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
13626 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
13627 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
13628 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
13629 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
13630 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
13633 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
13634 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
13635 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
13636 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
13638 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
13639 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
13640 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
13641 to stop doing it the old way.
13643 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
13645 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
13647 @cindex reporting bugs
13649 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
13650 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
13651 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
13655 @subsection Conformity
13657 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
13658 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
13665 There are no known breaches of this standard.
13669 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
13671 @item Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
13672 @cindex Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
13673 Gnus has been through the Seal process and failed. I think it'll pass
13674 the next inspection.
13676 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
13677 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
13678 We do have some breaches to this one.
13683 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
13684 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
13687 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
13688 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
13689 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
13690 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
13691 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
13696 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliantly with regards to the texts
13697 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
13702 @subsection Emacsen
13708 Gnus should work on :
13713 Emacs 19.32 and up.
13716 XEmacs 19.14 and up.
13719 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.32 and up.
13723 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
13724 reliably, at least.
13726 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
13727 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
13728 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
13733 @subsection Contributors
13734 @cindex contributors
13736 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
13737 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
13738 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
13739 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
13740 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
13741 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
13742 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
13743 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
13744 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
13745 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
13747 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
13753 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
13756 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
13757 well as numerous other things).
13760 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
13763 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
13766 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
13767 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
13770 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
13771 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
13774 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
13777 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
13780 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
13783 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
13786 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinsky---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
13787 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
13790 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
13793 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
13796 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
13799 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
13803 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
13806 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
13809 Ricardo Nassif, Mark Borges, and Jost Krieger---proof-reading.
13812 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
13815 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports.
13819 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
13828 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
13832 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
13844 Massimo Campostrini,
13848 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
13862 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
13864 François Felix Ingrand,
13865 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
13871 Peter Skov Knudsen,
13872 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
13873 Thor Kristoffersen,
13885 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
13886 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
13892 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
13897 John McClary Prevost,
13904 Randal L. Schwartz,
13922 Katsumi Yamaoka. @c Yamaoka
13924 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
13925 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
13926 (550kB and counting).
13928 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
13931 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
13932 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
13936 @subsection New Features
13937 @cindex new features
13940 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
13941 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
13942 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
13945 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
13946 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
13947 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
13951 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
13953 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
13958 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
13959 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
13962 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
13963 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
13966 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
13969 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
13970 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
13971 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
13974 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
13975 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
13976 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
13977 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
13980 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
13981 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13984 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
13985 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
13986 (@pxref{The Active File}).
13989 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
13990 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
13993 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
13994 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
13995 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
13998 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
13999 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
14000 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
14003 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
14004 the @file{.emacs} file.
14007 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
14008 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14011 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
14012 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
14015 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
14016 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
14019 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
14020 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
14023 Gnus can fetch articles asynchronously on a second connection to the
14024 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
14027 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
14030 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
14031 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
14034 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
14035 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
14038 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
14039 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
14042 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
14045 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
14046 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
14049 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
14053 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
14057 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
14058 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
14061 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
14067 @node September Gnus
14068 @subsubsection September Gnus
14070 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
14075 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
14076 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
14080 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
14081 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
14085 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
14089 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
14090 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
14093 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
14097 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
14100 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
14103 A @code{trn}-line tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
14106 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
14110 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
14111 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
14114 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
14118 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
14122 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
14126 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
14130 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
14133 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
14134 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
14137 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
14141 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
14142 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
14145 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
14148 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
14149 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
14150 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
14153 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
14157 The Gnus cache is much faster.
14160 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
14164 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-address and
14165 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
14168 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
14169 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
14172 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
14173 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14176 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
14177 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
14178 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
14181 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
14182 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
14185 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
14188 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
14191 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
14192 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
14196 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
14199 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
14202 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
14203 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
14206 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
14210 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
14213 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
14216 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
14220 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
14223 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
14227 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
14230 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
14233 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
14234 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
14237 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
14238 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
14242 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
14243 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
14246 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
14250 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
14251 buffer to allow easier treatment.
14254 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
14257 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
14261 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
14265 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
14266 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
14269 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
14273 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
14274 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
14277 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
14278 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
14281 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
14285 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
14288 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
14289 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
14293 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
14296 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
14302 @subsubsection Red Gnus
14304 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
14309 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
14312 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
14313 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
14316 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
14317 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
14321 Article washing status can be displayed in the
14322 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
14325 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
14328 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
14329 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
14332 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
14336 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
14337 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}).
14340 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
14341 Server Internals}).
14344 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
14348 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
14351 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
14352 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
14355 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
14356 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
14357 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
14360 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
14361 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
14364 A way to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed when
14365 generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
14368 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
14372 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
14373 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
14376 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
14377 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
14380 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
14384 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
14387 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
14391 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
14392 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
14395 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
14396 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
14399 A new command for reading collections of documents
14400 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
14401 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
14404 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
14408 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
14409 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
14412 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
14413 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
14414 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
14417 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
14418 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
14422 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
14426 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
14430 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
14434 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
14438 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
14439 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
14442 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
14445 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-emphasize)
14451 @node Newest Features
14452 @subsection Newest Features
14455 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
14458 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
14462 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
14464 Really do unbinhexing.
14467 And much, much, much more. There is more to come than has already been
14468 implemented. (But that's always true, isn't it?)
14470 @file{<URL:http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/rgnus/todo>} is where the actual
14471 up-to-the-second todo list is located, so if you're really curious, you
14472 could point your Web browser over that-a-way.
14477 @section The Manual
14481 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
14482 either @code{texi2dvi}
14484 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
14485 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
14487 to get what you hold in your hands now.
14489 The following conventions have been used:
14494 This is a @samp{string}
14497 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
14500 This is a @file{file}
14503 This is a @code{symbol}
14507 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
14511 (setq flargnoze "yes")
14514 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
14517 (setq flumphel 'yes)
14520 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
14521 ever get them confused.
14525 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
14526 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
14527 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
14528 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
14529 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
14530 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
14531 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
14538 @section Terminology
14540 @cindex terminology
14545 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
14546 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
14547 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
14548 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
14549 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
14553 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
14554 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
14555 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
14556 not posting, and replying is not following up.
14560 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
14564 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
14569 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
14570 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
14571 is all done by the backends.
14575 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
14576 default, way of getting news.
14580 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
14581 These are groups that use different backends for getting news.
14585 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
14586 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
14590 A message that has been posted as news.
14593 @cindex mail message
14594 A message that has been mailed.
14598 A mail message or news article
14602 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
14607 The rest of an article. Everything that is not in the head is in the
14612 A line from the head of an article.
14616 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
14617 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
14621 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
14622 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
14623 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
14624 normal @sc{head} format.
14628 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
14629 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
14630 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
14631 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
14632 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
14633 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
14635 @item killed groups
14636 @cindex killed groups
14637 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
14638 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
14640 @item zombie groups
14641 @cindex zombie groups
14642 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
14645 @cindex active file
14646 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
14647 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
14648 is rather large, as you might surmise.
14651 @cindex bogus groups
14652 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
14653 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
14654 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
14658 A machine than one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
14660 @item select method
14661 @cindex select method
14662 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
14665 @item virtual server
14666 @cindex virtual server
14667 A named select method. Since a select methods defines all there is to
14668 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the things as a
14669 whole is a virtual server.
14673 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
14674 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
14677 @item ephemeral groups
14678 @cindex ephemeral groups
14679 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
14680 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
14681 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
14684 @cindex solid groups
14685 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
14686 group buffer are solid groups.
14688 @item sparse articles
14689 @cindex sparse articles
14690 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
14691 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
14696 @node Customization
14697 @section Customization
14698 @cindex general customization
14700 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
14701 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
14702 for some quite common situations.
14705 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
14706 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
14707 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
14708 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
14712 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
14713 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
14715 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
14716 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
14717 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
14721 @item gnus-read-active-file
14722 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
14723 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
14724 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
14725 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
14726 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
14728 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
14729 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
14730 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
14731 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
14735 @node Slow Terminal Connection
14736 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
14738 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that
14739 runs Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce the
14740 amount of data that is sent over the wires as much as possible.
14744 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
14745 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
14746 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
14747 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
14748 horizontal and vertical recentering.
14750 @item gnus-visible-headers
14751 Cut down on the headers that are included in the articles to the
14752 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
14753 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
14754 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
14756 @item gnus-article-display-hook
14757 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
14759 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
14760 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
14761 gnus-article-hide-citation))
14764 @item gnus-use-full-window
14765 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
14766 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
14767 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
14768 want to read them anyway.
14770 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
14771 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
14774 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
14775 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
14776 lines, which might save some time.
14780 @node Little Disk Space
14781 @subsection Little Disk Space
14784 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
14785 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
14789 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
14790 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
14791 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
14792 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
14795 @item gnus-save-killed-list
14796 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
14797 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
14798 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
14799 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
14805 @subsection Slow Machine
14806 @cindex slow machine
14808 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
14809 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
14811 Set@code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
14812 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
14814 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
14815 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
14816 summary buffer faster.
14818 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
14819 processing a bit faster.
14822 @node Troubleshooting
14823 @section Troubleshooting
14824 @cindex troubleshooting
14826 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
14834 Make sure your computer is switched on.
14837 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
14838 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
14842 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
14843 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
14844 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
14845 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
14848 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
14852 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
14853 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
14854 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
14855 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
14856 something like that.
14859 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
14862 @cindex reporting bugs
14864 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
14866 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
14867 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
14868 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
14869 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
14871 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
14872 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
14873 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
14874 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
14877 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
14878 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you send back
14879 just ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
14880 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
14881 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
14882 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
14884 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
14885 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
14886 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
14889 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
14890 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
14892 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
14893 @cindex ding mailing list
14894 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@ifi.uio.no}.
14895 Write to @samp{ding-request@@ifi.uio.no} to subscribe.
14898 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
14899 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
14901 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
14902 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
14903 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
14904 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
14907 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
14908 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
14909 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
14910 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
14911 and general method of operations.
14914 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
14915 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
14916 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
14917 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
14918 * Group Info:: The group info format.
14919 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
14920 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
14924 @node Backend Interface
14925 @subsection Backend Interface
14927 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
14928 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
14929 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
14930 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
14931 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
14932 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
14934 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
14935 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
14936 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
14937 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
14938 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
14939 been opened, the function should fail.
14941 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
14942 name. Take this example:
14946 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
14947 (nntp-port-number 4324))
14950 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
14951 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
14953 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
14954 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
14955 server environments that it pulls down/pushes up when needed.
14957 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
14958 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
14959 always check whether are present before attempting to call.
14961 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
14962 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
14963 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
14964 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
14965 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
14966 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
14969 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
14970 some might be said to not be. The latter are backends that generally
14971 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
14972 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
14975 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
14978 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
14981 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
14982 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
14983 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
14984 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
14985 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
14986 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
14990 @node Required Backend Functions
14991 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
14995 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
14997 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
14998 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
14999 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
15000 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
15002 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
15003 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
15004 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
15005 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
15007 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try to fetch "extra
15008 headers, in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
15009 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
15010 article number in @code{articles}, and fill in the gaps as well. The
15011 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
15012 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
15013 number, do maximum fetches.
15015 Here's an example HEAD:
15018 221 1056 Article retrieved.
15019 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
15020 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
15021 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
15022 Subject: Re: Something very droll
15023 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
15024 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
15026 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
15027 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
15028 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
15032 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
15033 these in the data buffer.
15035 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
15039 head = error / valid-head
15040 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
15041 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
15042 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
15043 header = <text> eol
15046 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
15047 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
15051 nov-buffer = *nov-line
15052 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
15053 field = <text except TAB>
15056 For a closer explanation what should be in those fields,
15060 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
15062 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
15063 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that defines this virtual server.
15065 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
15066 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
15067 server. In fact, it should do so.
15069 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
15070 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
15073 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
15075 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
15076 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
15079 There should be no data returned.
15082 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
15084 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
15085 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
15086 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
15087 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
15089 There should be no data returned.
15092 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
15094 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
15095 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
15096 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
15097 attempt to reconnect to a server that is has lost connection to.
15099 There should be no data returned.
15102 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
15104 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
15106 There should be no data returned.
15109 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
15111 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
15112 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
15113 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
15114 it would be nice if that were possible.
15116 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
15117 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
15118 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
15119 another, and Gnus mainly request articles to be inserted directly into
15120 its article buffer.
15122 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
15123 the car is the group name the article was fetched from, and the cdr is
15124 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
15125 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
15126 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
15127 on successful article retrievement.
15130 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
15132 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
15133 making @var{group} the current group.
15135 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
15138 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
15141 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
15144 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
15145 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
15146 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
15147 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
15148 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
15149 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
15150 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
15151 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
15154 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
15155 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
15156 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
15160 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
15162 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
15163 a no-op on most backends.
15165 There should be no data returned.
15168 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
15170 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
15173 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
15176 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
15177 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
15180 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
15181 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
15184 active-file = *active-line
15185 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
15187 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
15190 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
15191 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
15192 (@samp{=other-group} or none of the above (@samp{y}).
15195 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
15197 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
15198 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
15199 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
15200 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
15201 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
15202 clear if the posting could not be completed.
15204 There should be no result data from this function.
15209 @node Optional Backend Functions
15210 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
15214 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
15216 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
15217 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
15218 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
15220 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
15221 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
15222 former is in the same format as the data from
15223 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
15224 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
15227 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
15231 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
15233 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
15234 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
15235 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
15236 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
15237 should return the (altered) group info.
15239 There should be no result data from this function.
15242 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
15244 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
15245 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
15246 user is following up is news or mail. This function should return
15247 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
15248 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
15249 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
15250 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
15251 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
15253 There should be no result data from this function.
15256 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
15258 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
15259 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
15260 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
15261 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
15262 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
15264 The only use for this that I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
15265 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
15266 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
15269 There should be no result data from this function.
15272 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
15274 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
15275 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
15276 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
15277 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
15278 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
15279 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
15280 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
15282 There should be no result data from this function.
15285 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
15287 The result data from this function should be a description of
15291 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
15293 description = <text>
15296 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
15298 The result data from this function should be the description of all
15299 groups available on the server.
15302 description-buffer = *description-line
15306 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
15308 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
15309 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
15310 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
15313 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
15315 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
15317 There should be no return data.
15320 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
15322 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
15323 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
15324 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
15325 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
15326 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
15329 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
15332 There should be no result data returned.
15335 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
15338 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
15339 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
15341 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
15342 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
15343 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
15344 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
15345 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
15346 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
15348 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
15349 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
15352 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
15353 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
15355 There should be no data returned.
15358 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
15360 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
15361 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
15362 this function in short order.
15364 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
15365 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
15367 There should be no data returned.
15370 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
15372 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
15373 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
15375 There should be no data returned.
15378 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
15380 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
15381 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
15382 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
15384 There should be no data returned.
15387 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
15389 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
15390 articles that are in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
15392 There should be no data returned.
15397 @node Error Messaging
15398 @subsubsection Error Messaging
15400 @findex nnheader-report
15401 @findex nnheader-get-report
15402 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
15403 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
15404 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
15405 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
15406 there are many of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
15407 This function always returns @code{nil}.
15410 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
15412 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
15415 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
15416 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
15417 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
15418 takes one argument---the server symbol.
15420 Internally, these function access @var{backend}@code{-status-string}, so
15421 the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
15422 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
15425 @node Writing New Backends
15426 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
15428 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
15429 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
15430 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
15431 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
15432 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
15435 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
15436 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
15437 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
15439 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
15440 package called @code{nnoo}.
15442 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
15443 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
15450 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
15451 parameters. For instance:
15454 (nnoo-declare nndir
15458 @code{nndir} has here declared that it intends to inherit functions from
15459 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
15462 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
15463 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
15464 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
15466 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
15467 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
15468 a function in those backends.
15471 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
15472 "Where nndir will look for groups."
15473 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
15476 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
15477 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
15478 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
15480 @item nnoo-define-basics
15481 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
15485 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
15489 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
15490 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
15491 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
15493 @item nnoo-map-functions
15494 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
15495 functions from the parent backends.
15498 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
15499 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15500 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
15503 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
15504 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
15505 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
15506 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
15509 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
15510 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
15511 haven't already been defined.
15517 nnmh-request-newgroups)
15521 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
15522 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
15523 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
15528 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
15531 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
15532 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
15536 (require 'nnheader)
15540 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
15542 (nnoo-declare nndir
15545 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
15546 "Where nndir will look for groups."
15547 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
15549 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
15550 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
15553 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
15554 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
15555 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
15557 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
15558 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
15560 ;;; Interface functions.
15562 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
15564 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
15565 (setq nndir-directory
15566 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
15568 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
15569 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
15570 (push `(nndir-current-group
15571 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
15573 (push `(nndir-top-directory
15574 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
15576 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
15578 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
15579 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15580 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15581 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
15582 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
15586 nnmh-status-message
15588 nnmh-request-newgroups))
15594 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
15595 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
15597 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
15598 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
15599 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
15600 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
15602 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
15603 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
15608 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
15611 The abilities can be:
15615 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
15617 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
15619 This backend supports both mail and news.
15621 This is neither a post or mail backend---it's something completely
15624 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
15625 articles and groups.
15627 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
15628 true for almost all backends.
15629 @item prompt-address
15630 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
15631 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
15632 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
15636 @node Mail-like Backends
15637 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
15639 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
15640 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
15641 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
15642 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
15645 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
15646 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
15647 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
15650 It simply just calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will a few parameters,
15651 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
15654 This function takes four parameters.
15658 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
15661 @item exit-function
15662 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
15664 @item temp-directory
15665 Where the temporary files should be stored.
15668 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
15669 performed for one group only.
15672 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
15673 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
15674 find the article number assigned to this article.
15676 The function also uses the following variables:
15677 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
15678 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
15679 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
15680 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
15684 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
15685 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
15689 @node Score File Syntax
15690 @subsection Score File Syntax
15692 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
15693 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
15694 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
15696 Here's a typical score file:
15700 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
15707 BNF definition of a score file:
15710 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
15711 element = rule / atom
15712 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
15713 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
15714 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
15715 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
15717 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
15718 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
15719 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
15720 date-header = "date"
15721 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15722 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15723 score = "nil" / <integer>
15724 date = "nil" / <natural number>
15725 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
15726 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
15727 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
15728 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
15729 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15730 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15731 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
15732 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15733 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
15734 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
15735 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
15736 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
15737 exclude-files / read-only / touched
15738 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
15739 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
15740 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
15741 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
15742 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
15743 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
15744 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
15745 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
15746 adapt = "adapt" [ space "nil" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
15747 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
15748 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
15749 eval = "eval" space <form>
15750 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
15753 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
15756 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
15757 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
15758 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
15759 one looong line, then that's ok.
15761 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
15766 @subsection Headers
15768 Gnus uses internally a format for storing article headers that
15769 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
15770 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
15771 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
15773 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
15774 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
15775 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
15776 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
15777 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
15778 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
15779 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
15781 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
15782 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
15783 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
15784 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
15785 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
15787 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
15794 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
15795 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
15797 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
15798 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
15799 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
15800 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
15802 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
15806 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
15809 is transformed into
15812 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
15815 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
15816 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
15819 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
15822 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
15823 is slightly tricky:
15826 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
15832 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
15835 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
15841 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
15848 and is equal to the previous range.
15850 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
15851 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
15852 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
15856 range = simple-range / normal-range
15857 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
15858 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
15859 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
15860 number *[ " " contents ]
15863 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
15864 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
15865 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
15866 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
15867 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
15872 @subsection Group Info
15874 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
15875 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
15876 describes the group.
15878 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
15879 second is a more complex one:
15882 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
15884 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
15885 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
15887 (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@ifi.uio.no")))
15890 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
15891 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
15892 normally is a small integer. The third element is a list of ranges of
15893 read articles. The fourth element is a list of lists of article marks
15894 of various kinds. The fifth element is the select method (or virtual
15895 server, if you like). The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group
15896 parameters}, which is what this section is about.
15898 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
15899 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
15900 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
15902 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
15905 info = "(" group space level space read
15906 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
15907 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15908 group = quote <string> quote
15909 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
15911 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
15912 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
15913 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
15914 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
15917 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
15918 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
15922 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
15923 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
15927 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
15928 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
15929 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
15931 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
15932 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
15933 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
15934 Gnus, that's very useful.
15936 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
15937 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
15938 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
15939 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
15940 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
15941 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
15942 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
15943 following function:
15946 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
15950 (,function ,@@args))
15954 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
15955 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
15956 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
15959 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
15960 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
15961 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
15964 @node Various File Formats
15965 @subsection Various File Formats
15968 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
15969 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
15973 @node Active File Format
15974 @subsubsection Active File Format
15976 The active file lists all groups that are available on the server in
15977 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
15980 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
15983 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
15984 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
15985 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
15986 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
15987 no.general 1000 900 y
15990 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
15993 active = *group-line
15994 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
15995 group = <non-white-space string>
15997 high-number = <non-negative integer>
15998 low-number = <positive integer>
15999 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
16003 @node Newsgroups File Format
16004 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
16006 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
16007 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
16008 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
16011 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
16012 Here's the definition:
16016 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
16017 group = <non-white-space string>
16019 description = <string>
16023 @node Emacs for Heathens
16024 @section Emacs for Heathens
16026 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
16027 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
16028 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
16029 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
16030 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
16031 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
16032 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
16036 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
16037 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
16042 @subsection Keystrokes
16046 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
16049 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
16052 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
16053 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
16054 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
16055 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
16056 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
16057 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
16059 The shift key is normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
16060 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
16061 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
16062 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
16063 keyboards. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
16064 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
16065 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
16067 Now, us Emacs people doesn't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
16068 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
16069 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
16070 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
16071 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
16072 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
16073 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
16075 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
16076 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
16077 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
16078 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
16079 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
16085 @subsection Emacs Lisp
16087 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
16088 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
16089 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
16090 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
16092 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
16093 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
16094 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
16095 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
16096 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
16097 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
16098 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
16101 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
16102 write the following:
16105 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
16108 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
16109 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
16110 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
16113 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
16114 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
16115 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
16116 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
16117 previous ``form'', which here is a simple @code{setq} statement.
16119 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
16120 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
16121 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
16125 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
16129 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
16132 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
16133 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
16136 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
16139 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
16140 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
16143 @include gnus-faq.texi