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335 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
340 @setchapternewpage odd
347 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
349 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
355 @top The Gnus Newsreader
359 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
360 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
361 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
364 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
365 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.7.
376 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
377 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
379 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
380 being accused of plagiarism:
382 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
383 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
384 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
385 can even read news with it!
387 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
388 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
389 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
390 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
391 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
397 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
398 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
399 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
400 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
401 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
402 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
403 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
404 * Various:: General purpose settings.
405 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
406 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
407 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation.
408 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
409 * Key Index:: Key Index.
411 Other related manuals
413 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
414 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
415 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
416 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
417 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
420 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
424 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
425 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
426 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
427 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
428 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
429 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
430 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
431 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
432 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
433 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
434 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
438 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
439 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
440 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
444 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
445 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
446 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
447 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
448 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
449 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
450 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
451 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
452 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
453 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
454 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
455 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
456 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
457 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
458 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
459 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
460 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
464 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
465 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
466 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
470 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
471 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
472 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
473 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
474 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
478 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
479 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
480 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
481 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
482 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
486 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
487 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
488 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
489 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
490 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
491 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
492 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
493 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
494 * Threading:: How threads are made.
495 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
496 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
497 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
498 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
499 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
500 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
501 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
502 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
503 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
504 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
505 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
506 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
507 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
508 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
509 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
510 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
511 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
512 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
513 or reselecting the current group.
514 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
515 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
516 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
517 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
519 Summary Buffer Format
521 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
522 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
523 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
524 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
528 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
529 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
531 Reply, Followup and Post
533 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
534 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
535 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
536 * Canceling and Superseding::
540 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
541 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
542 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
543 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
544 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
545 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
549 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
550 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
552 Customizing Threading
554 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
555 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
556 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
557 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
561 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
562 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
563 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
564 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
565 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
566 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
570 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
571 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
572 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
576 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
577 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
578 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
579 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
580 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
581 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
582 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
583 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
584 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
585 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
586 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
588 Alternative Approaches
590 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
591 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
593 Various Summary Stuff
595 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
596 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
597 * Summary Generation Commands::
598 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
602 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
603 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
604 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
605 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
606 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
610 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
611 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
612 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
613 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
614 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
615 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
616 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
617 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
618 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
622 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
623 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
624 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
625 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
626 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
627 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
628 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
629 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
630 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
634 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
635 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
636 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
637 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
638 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
639 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
640 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
644 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
645 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
649 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
650 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
651 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
652 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
656 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
657 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
658 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
659 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
660 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
661 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
662 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
663 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
664 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
665 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
666 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
667 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
668 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
672 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
673 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
674 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
676 Choosing a Mail Back End
678 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
679 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
680 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
681 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
682 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
683 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
684 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
689 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
690 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
691 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
692 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
693 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
694 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
698 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
699 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
700 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
701 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
702 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
703 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
707 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
708 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
709 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
710 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
711 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
715 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
719 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
720 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
721 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
725 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
726 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
730 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
731 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
732 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
736 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
737 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
738 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
740 The Gnus Diary Library
742 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
743 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
744 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
745 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
749 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
750 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
751 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
752 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
753 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
754 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
755 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
756 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
757 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
758 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
759 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
760 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
761 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
762 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
766 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
767 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
768 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
772 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
773 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
774 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
778 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
779 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
780 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
781 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
782 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
783 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
784 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
785 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
786 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
787 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
788 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
789 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
790 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
791 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
792 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
793 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
797 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
798 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
799 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
803 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
804 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
805 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
806 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
807 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
808 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
809 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
810 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
811 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
812 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
813 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
814 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
815 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
816 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
817 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
818 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
819 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
820 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
821 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
822 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
823 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
827 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
828 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
829 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
830 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
831 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
832 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
833 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
834 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
838 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
839 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
840 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were
842 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
843 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
847 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
848 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
849 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
850 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
854 * Spam Package Introduction::
855 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
856 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
857 * Spam and Ham Processors::
858 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
860 * Extending the Spam package::
861 * Spam Statistics Package::
863 Spam Statistics Package
865 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
866 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
867 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
871 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
872 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
873 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
874 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
875 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
876 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
877 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
878 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
879 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
883 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
884 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
885 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
886 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
887 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
888 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
889 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
890 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
891 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
895 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
896 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
897 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
898 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
899 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
900 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
901 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
905 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
906 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
907 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
908 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
912 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
913 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
914 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
915 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
916 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
917 * Group Info:: The group info format.
918 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
919 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
920 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
924 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
925 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
926 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
927 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
928 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
929 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
933 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
934 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
938 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
939 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
945 @chapter Starting Gnus
948 If you are haven't used Emacs much before using Gnus, read @ref{Emacs
953 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
954 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
955 your Emacs. If not, you should customize the variable
956 @code{gnus-select-method} as described in @ref{Finding the News}. For a
957 minimal setup for posting should also customize the variables
958 @code{user-full-name} and @code{user-mail-address}.
960 @findex gnus-other-frame
961 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
962 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
963 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
965 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
966 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
967 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
969 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
970 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
973 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
974 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
975 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
976 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
977 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
978 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
979 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
980 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
981 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
982 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
986 @node Finding the News
987 @section Finding the News
990 @vindex gnus-select-method
992 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
993 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
994 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
995 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
998 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
999 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1002 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1005 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1008 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1011 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1012 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1013 server is running Leafnode (which is a simple, standalone private news
1014 server); in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1016 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1018 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1019 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1020 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1021 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1022 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1023 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1024 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1026 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1027 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1028 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1029 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1031 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1032 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1033 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1034 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1035 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1036 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1037 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1038 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1039 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1042 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1044 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1045 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1046 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1047 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1048 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1049 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1051 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1053 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1054 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1055 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1056 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1057 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1058 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1061 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1062 you would typically set this variable to
1065 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1068 Note: the @acronym{NNTP} back end stores marks in marks files
1069 (@pxref{NNTP marks}). This feature makes it easy to share marks between
1070 several Gnus installations, but may slow down things a bit when fetching
1071 new articles. @xref{NNTP marks}, for more information.
1074 @node The First Time
1075 @section The First Time
1076 @cindex first time usage
1078 If no startup files exist (@pxref{Startup Files}), Gnus will try to
1079 determine what groups should be subscribed by default.
1081 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1082 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1083 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1084 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1087 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1088 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1089 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1091 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1092 help you with most common problems.
1094 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1095 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1099 @node The Server is Down
1100 @section The Server is Down
1101 @cindex server errors
1103 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1104 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1105 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1107 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1108 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1109 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1110 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1111 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1112 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1113 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1115 @findex gnus-no-server
1116 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1118 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1119 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1120 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1121 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1122 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1123 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1124 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1128 @section Slave Gnusae
1131 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1132 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1133 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1134 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1136 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1137 @file{.newsrc} file.
1139 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1140 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1141 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1142 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1143 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1144 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1145 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1148 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1149 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1150 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1151 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1152 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1153 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1154 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1155 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1157 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1158 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1160 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1161 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1162 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1163 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1164 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1171 @cindex subscription
1173 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1174 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1175 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1176 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1177 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1178 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1179 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1180 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1181 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1184 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1185 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1186 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1190 @node Checking New Groups
1191 @subsection Checking New Groups
1193 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1194 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1195 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1196 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1197 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1198 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1199 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1200 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1201 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1202 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1204 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1205 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1206 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1207 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1208 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1209 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1210 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1211 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1212 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1213 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1214 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1216 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1217 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1218 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1219 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1220 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1221 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1224 @node Subscription Methods
1225 @subsection Subscription Methods
1227 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1228 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1229 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1231 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1232 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1234 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1238 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1239 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1240 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1241 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1242 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1244 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1245 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1246 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1247 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1249 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1250 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1251 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1253 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1254 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1255 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1256 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1257 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1258 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1259 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1260 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1261 up. Or something like that.
1263 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1264 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1265 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1266 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1267 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1269 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1270 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1271 Kill all new groups.
1273 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1274 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1275 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1276 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1277 topic parameter that looks like
1283 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1286 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1291 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1292 A closely related variable is
1293 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1294 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1295 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1296 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1299 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1300 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1301 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1302 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1305 @node Filtering New Groups
1306 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1308 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1309 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1310 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1313 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1316 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1317 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1318 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1319 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1320 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1321 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1322 subscribing these groups.
1323 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1324 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1326 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1327 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1328 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1329 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1330 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1331 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1332 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1333 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1335 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1336 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1337 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1338 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1339 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1340 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1341 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1342 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1343 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1344 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1347 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1348 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1351 @node Changing Servers
1352 @section Changing Servers
1353 @cindex changing servers
1355 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1356 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1357 very flaky and you want to use another.
1359 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1360 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1364 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1365 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1366 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1367 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1370 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1371 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1372 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1373 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1375 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1376 @findex gnus-change-server
1377 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1378 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1379 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1380 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1381 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1383 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1384 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1385 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1386 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1387 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1389 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1390 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1391 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1392 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1393 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1394 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1396 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1397 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1398 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1399 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1401 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1402 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1403 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1404 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1405 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1406 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1407 cache for all groups).
1411 @section Startup Files
1412 @cindex startup files
1417 Most common Unix news readers use a shared startup file called
1418 @file{.newsrc}. This file contains all the information about what
1419 groups are subscribed, and which articles in these groups have been
1422 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1423 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1424 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1425 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1426 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1427 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1428 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1430 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1431 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1432 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1433 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1434 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1435 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1437 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1438 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1439 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1440 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1441 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1442 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1443 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1444 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1445 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which can be
1446 convenient if you use a different news reader occasionally, and you
1447 want to read a different subset of the available groups with that
1450 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1451 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1452 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1453 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1454 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1455 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1456 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1457 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1458 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1459 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1460 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1461 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1463 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1464 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1465 @vindex version-control
1466 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1467 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1468 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1469 If you want version control for this file, set
1470 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1471 @code{version-control} variable.
1473 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1474 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1475 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1476 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1477 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1478 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1479 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1480 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1481 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1482 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1485 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1486 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1488 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1489 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1492 @vindex gnus-init-file
1493 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1494 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1495 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus-init} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1496 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1497 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1498 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1499 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1500 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1501 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1502 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order). If Emacs was invoked with
1503 the @option{-q} or @option{--no-init-file} options (@pxref{Initial
1504 Options, ,Initial Options, emacs, The Emacs Manual}), Gnus doesn't read
1505 @code{gnus-init-file}.
1510 @cindex dribble file
1513 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1514 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1515 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1516 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1517 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1520 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1521 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1524 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1525 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1526 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1528 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1529 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1530 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1531 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1532 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1533 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1535 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1536 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1537 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1540 @node The Active File
1541 @section The Active File
1543 @cindex ignored groups
1545 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1546 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1547 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1549 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1550 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1551 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1552 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1553 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1554 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1555 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1558 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1559 @c if you set it to anything else.
1561 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1563 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1564 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1565 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1567 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1568 you actually subscribe to.
1570 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1571 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1572 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1573 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1575 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1576 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1577 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1578 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1579 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1580 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1582 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1583 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1584 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1587 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1588 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1589 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1590 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1591 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1592 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1594 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1595 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1597 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1598 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1600 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1601 secondary select methods.
1604 @node Startup Variables
1605 @section Startup Variables
1609 @item gnus-load-hook
1610 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1611 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1612 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1613 times you start Gnus.
1615 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1616 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1617 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1619 @item gnus-startup-hook
1620 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1621 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1623 @item gnus-started-hook
1624 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1625 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1628 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1629 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1630 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1631 generating the group buffer.
1633 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1634 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1635 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1636 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1637 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1638 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1639 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1640 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1642 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1643 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1644 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1645 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1646 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1647 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1649 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1650 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1651 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1653 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1654 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1655 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1657 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1658 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1659 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1660 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1666 @chapter Group Buffer
1667 @cindex group buffer
1669 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1671 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1672 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1673 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1674 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1675 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1676 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1677 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1678 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1679 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1680 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1681 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1682 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1683 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1684 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1685 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1686 @c human rights at 9...
1689 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1690 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1691 long as Gnus is active.
1695 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1696 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1697 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1698 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1699 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1700 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1701 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1702 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1708 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1709 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1710 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1711 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1712 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1713 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1714 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1715 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1716 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1717 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1718 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1719 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1720 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1721 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1722 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1723 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1724 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1728 @node Group Buffer Format
1729 @section Group Buffer Format
1732 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1733 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1734 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1737 You can customize the Group Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
1738 customize-apropos RET gnus-group-tool-bar}. This feature is only
1741 The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly depending on the
1742 cursor position. Therefore, moving around in the Group Buffer is
1743 slower. You can disable this via the variable
1744 @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}. Its default value depends on your
1747 @node Group Line Specification
1748 @subsection Group Line Specification
1749 @cindex group buffer format
1751 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1752 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1754 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1757 25: news.announce.newusers
1758 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1763 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1764 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1765 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1766 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1768 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1769 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1770 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1771 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1772 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1773 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1775 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1777 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1778 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1779 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1780 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1781 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1783 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1784 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1785 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1787 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1792 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1795 Whether the group is subscribed.
1798 Level of subscribedness.
1801 Number of unread articles.
1804 Number of dormant articles.
1807 Number of ticked articles.
1810 Number of read articles.
1813 Number of unseen articles.
1816 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1817 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1819 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1820 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1821 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1822 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1823 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1824 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1825 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job.
1827 The nnml backend (@pxref{Mail Spool}) has a feature called ``group
1828 compaction'' which circumvents this deficiency: the idea is to
1829 renumber all articles from 1, removing all gaps between numbers, hence
1830 getting a correct total count. Other backends may support this in the
1831 future. In order to keep your total article count relatively up to
1832 date, you might want to compact your groups (or even directly your
1833 server) from time to time. @xref{Misc Group Stuff}, @xref{Server Commands}.
1836 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1839 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1848 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1849 comment element in the group parameters.
1852 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1853 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1854 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1858 @samp{m} if moderated.
1861 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1867 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1873 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1877 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1880 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1881 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1882 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1883 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1884 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1887 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1889 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1893 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1896 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1900 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1901 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1902 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1903 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1906 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1907 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1908 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1909 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1910 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1911 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1916 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1917 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1918 group, or a bogus native group.
1921 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1922 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1923 @cindex group mode line
1925 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1926 The mode line can be changed by setting
1927 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1928 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1932 The native news server.
1934 The native select method.
1938 @node Group Highlighting
1939 @subsection Group Highlighting
1940 @cindex highlighting
1941 @cindex group highlighting
1943 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1944 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1945 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1946 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1947 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1949 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1953 (cond (window-system
1954 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1955 (defface my-group-face-1
1956 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1957 (defface my-group-face-2
1958 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1959 "Second group face")
1960 (defface my-group-face-3
1961 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1962 (defface my-group-face-4
1963 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1964 (defface my-group-face-5
1965 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1967 (setq gnus-group-highlig