10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
15 @setchapternewpage odd
19 \documentclass[twoside,a4paper,openright,11pt]{book}
20 \usepackage[latin1]{inputenc}
21 \usepackage{pagestyle}
24 \input{gnusconfig.tex}
26 \ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
28 \usepackage[pdftex,bookmarks,colorlinks=true]{hyperref}
36 \newcommand{\gnusversionname}{Oort Gnus v0.07}
37 \newcommand{\gnuschaptername}{}
38 \newcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
40 \newcommand{\gnusbackslash}{/}
42 \newcommand{\gnusref}[1]{``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
43 \ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
44 \newcommand{\gnusuref}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
46 \newcommand{\gnusuref}[1]{\href{#1}{\gnustt{#1}}}
48 \newcommand{\gnusxref}[1]{See ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
49 \newcommand{\gnuspxref}[1]{see ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
51 \newcommand{\gnuskindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
52 \newcommand{\gnusindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
54 \newcommand{\gnustt}[1]{{\gnusselectttfont{}#1}}
55 \newcommand{\gnuscode}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
56 \newcommand{\gnussamp}[1]{``{\fontencoding{OT1}\gnusselectttfont{}#1}''}
57 \newcommand{\gnuslisp}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
58 \newcommand{\gnuskbd}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
59 \newcommand{\gnusfile}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
60 \newcommand{\gnusdfn}[1]{\textit{#1}}
61 \newcommand{\gnusi}[1]{\textit{#1}}
62 \newcommand{\gnusstrong}[1]{\textbf{#1}}
63 \newcommand{\gnusemph}[1]{\textit{#1}}
64 \newcommand{\gnusvar}[1]{{\fontsize{10pt}{10}\selectfont\textsl{\textsf{#1}}}}
65 \newcommand{\gnussc}[1]{\textsc{#1}}
66 \newcommand{\gnustitle}[1]{{\huge\textbf{#1}}}
67 \newcommand{\gnusversion}[1]{{\small\textit{#1}}}
68 \newcommand{\gnusauthor}[1]{{\large\textbf{#1}}}
69 \newcommand{\gnusresult}[1]{\gnustt{=> #1}}
71 \newcommand{\gnusbullet}{{${\bullet}$}}
72 \newcommand{\gnusdollar}{\$}
73 \newcommand{\gnusampersand}{\&}
74 \newcommand{\gnuspercent}{\%}
75 \newcommand{\gnushash}{\#}
76 \newcommand{\gnushat}{\symbol{"5E}}
77 \newcommand{\gnusunderline}{\symbol{"5F}}
78 \newcommand{\gnusnot}{$\neg$}
79 \newcommand{\gnustilde}{\symbol{"7E}}
80 \newcommand{\gnusless}{{$<$}}
81 \newcommand{\gnusgreater}{{$>$}}
82 \newcommand{\gnusbraceleft}{{$>$}}
83 \newcommand{\gnusbraceright}{{$>$}}
85 \newcommand{\gnushead}{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-head,height=1cm}}}
86 \newcommand{\gnusinteresting}{
87 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\gnushead]{\gnushead}
90 \newcommand{\gnuscleardoublepage}{\ifodd\count0\mbox{}\clearpage\thispagestyle{empty}\mbox{}\clearpage\else\clearpage\fi}
92 \newcommand{\gnuspagechapter}[1]{
99 \newcommand{\gnuschapter}[2]{
101 \ifdim \gnusdimen = 0pt\setcounter{page}{1}\pagestyle{gnus}\pagenumbering{arabic} \gnusdimen 1pt\fi
103 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
104 \renewcommand{\gnuschaptername}{#2}
105 \thispagestyle{empty}
107 \begin{picture}(500,500)(0,0)
108 \put(480,350){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{#1}}
109 \put(40,300){\makebox(500,50)[bl]{{\Huge\bf{#2}}}}
114 \newcommand{\gnusfigure}[3]{
116 \mbox{}\ifodd\count0\hspace*{-0.8cm}\else\hspace*{-3cm}\fi\begin{picture}(440,#2)
123 \newcommand{\gnusicon}[1]{
124 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\raisebox{-1.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/#1-up,height=1.5cm}}]{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/#1-up,height=1cm}}}
127 \newcommand{\gnuspicon}[1]{
128 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=2cm}}
131 \newcommand{\gnusxface}[2]{
132 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=1cm}\epsfig{figure=#2,width=1cm}}
135 \newcommand{\gnussmiley}[2]{
136 \margindex{\makebox[2cm]{\hfill\epsfig{figure=#1,width=0.5cm}\hfill\epsfig{figure=#2,width=0.5cm}\hfill}}
139 \newcommand{\gnusitemx}[1]{\mbox{}\vspace*{-\itemsep}\vspace*{-\parsep}\item#1}
141 \newcommand{\gnussection}[1]{
142 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{#1}
146 \newenvironment{codelist}%
151 \newenvironment{kbdlist}%
157 \newenvironment{dfnlist}%
162 \newenvironment{stronglist}%
167 \newenvironment{samplist}%
172 \newenvironment{varlist}%
177 \newenvironment{emphlist}%
182 \newlength\gnusheadtextwidth
183 \setlength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{\headtextwidth}
184 \addtolength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{1cm}
186 \newpagestyle{gnuspreamble}%
191 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\mbox{}}\textbf{\hfill\roman{page}}}
195 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\roman{page}\hfill\mbox{}}}
204 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
206 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
211 \newpagestyle{gnusindex}%
216 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\gnuschaptername\hfill\arabic{page}}}}
220 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}
228 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
230 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
240 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{3.1cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{chapter}.\arabic{section}} \textbf{\gnussectionname\hfill\arabic{page}}}}}
244 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{-2.95cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}}
252 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
254 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
259 \pagenumbering{roman}
260 \pagestyle{gnuspreamble}
270 %\addtolength{\oddsidemargin}{-5cm}
271 %\addtolength{\evensidemargin}{-5cm}
273 \addtolength{\textheight}{2cm}
275 \gnustitle{\gnustitlename}\hfill\gnusversion{\gnusversionname}\\
278 \hspace*{0cm}\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=15cm}
281 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
288 \thispagestyle{empty}
290 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
291 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
294 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
295 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
296 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
297 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
298 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
299 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
300 License'' in the Emacs manual.
302 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
303 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
304 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
306 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
307 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
308 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
309 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
317 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
319 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
320 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
322 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
323 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
324 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
325 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
326 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
327 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
328 License'' in the Emacs manual.
330 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
331 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
332 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
334 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
335 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
336 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
337 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
345 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
348 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
349 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
350 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
352 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
353 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
354 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
355 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
356 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
357 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
358 License'' in the Emacs manual.
360 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
361 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
362 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
364 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
365 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
366 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
367 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
376 @top The Gnus Newsreader
380 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
381 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
382 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
385 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v0.07.
396 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
397 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
399 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
400 being accused of plagiarism:
402 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
403 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
404 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
405 can even read news with it!
407 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
408 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
409 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
410 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
411 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
417 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
418 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
419 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
420 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
421 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
422 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
423 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
424 * Various:: General purpose settings.
425 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
426 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
427 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
428 * Key Index:: Key Index.
431 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
435 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
436 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
437 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
438 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
439 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
440 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
441 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
442 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
443 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
444 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
445 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
449 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
450 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
451 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
455 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
456 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
457 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
458 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
459 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
460 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
461 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
462 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
463 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
464 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
465 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
466 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
467 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
468 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
469 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
470 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
471 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
475 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
476 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
477 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
481 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
482 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
483 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
484 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
485 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
489 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
490 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
491 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
492 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
493 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
497 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
498 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
499 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
500 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
501 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
503 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
504 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
505 * Threading:: How threads are made.
506 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
507 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
508 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
509 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
510 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
511 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
512 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
513 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
514 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
515 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
516 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
517 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
518 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
519 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
520 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
521 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
522 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
523 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
524 or reselecting the current group.
525 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
526 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
527 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
528 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
530 Summary Buffer Format
532 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
533 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
534 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
535 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
539 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
540 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
542 Reply, Followup and Post
544 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
545 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
546 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
547 * Canceling and Superseding::
551 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
552 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
553 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
555 * Generic Marking Commands::
556 * Setting Process Marks::
560 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
561 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
562 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
566 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
567 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
569 Customizing Threading
571 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
572 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
573 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
574 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
578 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
579 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
580 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
581 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
582 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
583 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
587 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
588 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
589 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
593 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
594 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
595 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
596 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
597 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
598 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
599 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
600 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
601 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
602 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
604 Alternative Approaches
606 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
607 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
609 Various Summary Stuff
611 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
612 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
613 * Summary Generation Commands::
614 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
618 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
619 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
620 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
621 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
622 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
626 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
627 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
628 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
629 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
630 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
631 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
632 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
633 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
637 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
638 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
639 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
640 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
641 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
642 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
643 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
644 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
648 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
649 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
650 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
651 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
652 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
653 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
654 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
658 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
659 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
663 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
664 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
665 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
669 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
670 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
671 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
672 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
673 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
674 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
675 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
676 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
677 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
678 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
679 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
680 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
681 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
685 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
686 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
687 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
689 Choosing a Mail Back End
691 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
692 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
693 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
694 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
695 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
696 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
701 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
702 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
703 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
704 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
705 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
706 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
710 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
711 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
712 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
716 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
717 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
718 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
719 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
720 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
724 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
728 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
729 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
730 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
734 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
735 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
739 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
740 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
741 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
742 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
743 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
744 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
745 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
746 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
747 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
748 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
749 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
753 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
754 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
755 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
759 * Group Agent Commands::
760 * Summary Agent Commands::
761 * Server Agent Commands::
765 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
766 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
767 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
768 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
769 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
770 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
771 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
772 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
773 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
774 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
775 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
776 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
777 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
778 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
779 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
780 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
781 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
785 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
786 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
787 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
788 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
792 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
793 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
794 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
798 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
799 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
800 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
801 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
802 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
803 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
804 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
805 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
806 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
807 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
808 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
809 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
810 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
811 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
812 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
813 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
814 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
815 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
816 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
820 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
821 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
822 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
823 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
824 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
825 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
826 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
827 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
831 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
832 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
833 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
834 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
835 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
839 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
840 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
841 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
842 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
843 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
847 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
848 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
849 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
853 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
854 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
855 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
856 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
857 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
858 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
859 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
860 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
861 * Frequently Asked Questions::
865 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
866 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
867 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
868 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
869 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
870 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
871 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
872 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
873 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
877 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
878 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
879 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
880 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
881 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
885 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
886 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
887 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
888 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
892 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
893 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
894 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
895 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
896 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
897 * Group Info:: The group info format.
898 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
899 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
900 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
904 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
905 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
906 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
907 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
908 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
909 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
913 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
914 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
918 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
919 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
925 @chapter Starting Gnus
930 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
931 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
934 @findex gnus-other-frame
935 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
936 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
937 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
939 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
940 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
941 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
943 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
944 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
947 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
948 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
949 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
950 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
951 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
952 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
953 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
954 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
955 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
956 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
957 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
961 @node Finding the News
962 @section Finding the News
965 @vindex gnus-select-method
967 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
968 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
969 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
970 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
973 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
974 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
977 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
980 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
983 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
986 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
987 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
988 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
990 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
992 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
993 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
994 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
995 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
996 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
997 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
999 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1000 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1001 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1002 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1004 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1005 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1006 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1007 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1008 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1009 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1010 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1011 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1012 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1015 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1017 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1018 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1019 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1020 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1021 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1022 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1024 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1026 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1027 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1028 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1029 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1030 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1031 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1034 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1035 you would typically set this variable to
1038 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1042 @node The First Time
1043 @section The First Time
1044 @cindex first time usage
1046 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1047 be subscribed by default.
1049 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1050 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1051 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1052 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1055 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1056 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1057 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1059 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1060 help you with most common problems.
1062 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1063 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1067 @node The Server is Down
1068 @section The Server is Down
1069 @cindex server errors
1071 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1072 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1073 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1075 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1076 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1077 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1078 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1079 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1080 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1081 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1083 @findex gnus-no-server
1084 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1086 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1087 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1088 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1089 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1090 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1091 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1092 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1096 @section Slave Gnusae
1099 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1100 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1101 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1102 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1104 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1105 @code{.newsrc} file.
1107 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1108 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1109 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1110 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1111 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1112 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1113 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1115 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1116 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1117 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1118 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1119 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1120 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1121 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1122 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1124 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1125 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1127 If the @code{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1128 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1129 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1130 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1131 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1133 @node Fetching a Group
1134 @section Fetching a Group
1135 @cindex fetching a group
1137 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1138 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1139 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1140 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1141 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1142 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1148 @cindex subscription
1150 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1151 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1152 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1153 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1154 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1155 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1156 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1157 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1158 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1161 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1162 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1163 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1167 @node Checking New Groups
1168 @subsection Checking New Groups
1170 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1171 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1172 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1173 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1174 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1175 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1176 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1177 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1178 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1179 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1181 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1182 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1183 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1184 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1185 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1186 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1187 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1188 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1189 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1190 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1191 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1193 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1194 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1195 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1196 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1197 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1198 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1201 @node Subscription Methods
1202 @subsection Subscription Methods
1204 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1205 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1206 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1208 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1209 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1211 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1215 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1216 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1217 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1218 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1219 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1221 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1222 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1223 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1224 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1226 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1227 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1228 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1230 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1231 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1232 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1233 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1234 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1235 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1236 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1237 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1238 up. Or something like that.
1240 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1241 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1242 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1243 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1244 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1246 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1247 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1248 Kill all new groups.
1250 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1251 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1252 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1253 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1254 topic parameter that looks like
1260 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1263 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1268 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1269 A closely related variable is
1270 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1271 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1272 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1273 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1276 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1277 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1278 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1279 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1282 @node Filtering New Groups
1283 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1285 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1286 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1287 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1290 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1293 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1294 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1295 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1296 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1297 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1298 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1299 subscribing these groups.
1300 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1301 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1303 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1304 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1305 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1306 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1307 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1308 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1309 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1310 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1312 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1313 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1314 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1315 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1316 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1317 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1318 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1319 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1320 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1321 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1324 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1325 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1328 @node Changing Servers
1329 @section Changing Servers
1330 @cindex changing servers
1332 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1333 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1334 very flaky and you want to use another.
1336 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1337 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1341 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1342 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1343 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1344 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1347 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1348 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1349 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1350 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1352 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1353 @findex gnus-change-server
1354 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1355 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1356 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1357 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1358 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1360 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1361 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1362 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1363 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1364 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1366 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1367 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1368 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1369 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1370 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1371 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1373 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1374 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1375 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1376 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1378 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1379 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1380 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1381 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1382 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1383 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1384 cache for all groups).
1388 @section Startup Files
1389 @cindex startup files
1394 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1395 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1397 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1398 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1399 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1400 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1401 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1402 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1403 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1405 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1406 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1407 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1408 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1409 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1410 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1412 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1413 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1414 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1415 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1416 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1417 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1418 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1419 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1420 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1421 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1423 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1424 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1425 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1426 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1427 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1428 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1429 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1430 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1431 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1432 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1433 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1434 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1436 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1437 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1438 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1439 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1441 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1442 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1443 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1444 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1445 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1446 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1447 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1448 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1449 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1450 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1453 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1454 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1456 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1457 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1460 @vindex gnus-init-file
1461 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1462 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1463 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1464 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1465 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1466 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1467 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1468 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1469 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1475 @cindex dribble file
1478 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1479 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1480 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1481 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1482 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1485 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1486 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1489 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1490 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1491 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1493 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1494 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1495 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1496 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1497 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1498 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1500 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1501 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1502 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1505 @node The Active File
1506 @section The Active File
1508 @cindex ignored groups
1510 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1511 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1512 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1514 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1515 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1516 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1517 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1518 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1519 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1520 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1523 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1524 @c if you set it to anything else.
1526 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1528 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1529 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1530 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1532 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1533 you actually subscribe to.
1535 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1536 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1537 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1538 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1540 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1541 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1542 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1543 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1544 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1545 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1547 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1548 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1549 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1552 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1553 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1554 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1555 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1556 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1557 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1559 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1560 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1562 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1563 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1565 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1566 secondary select methods.
1569 @node Startup Variables
1570 @section Startup Variables
1574 @item gnus-load-hook
1575 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1576 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1577 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1578 times you start Gnus.
1580 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1581 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1582 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1584 @item gnus-startup-hook
1585 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1586 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1588 @item gnus-started-hook
1589 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1590 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1593 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1594 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1595 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1596 generating the group buffer.
1598 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1599 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1600 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1601 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1602 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1603 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1604 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1605 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1607 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1608 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1609 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1610 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1611 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1612 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1614 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1615 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1616 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1618 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1619 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1620 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1622 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1623 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1624 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1625 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1631 @chapter Group Buffer
1632 @cindex group buffer
1634 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1636 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1637 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1638 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1639 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1640 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1641 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1642 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1643 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1644 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1645 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1646 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1647 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1648 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1649 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1650 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1651 @c human rights at 9...
1654 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1655 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1656 long as Gnus is active.
1660 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1661 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1662 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1663 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1664 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1665 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1666 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1667 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1673 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1674 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1675 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1676 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1677 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1678 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1679 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1680 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1681 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1682 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1683 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1684 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1685 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1686 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1687 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1688 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1689 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1693 @node Group Buffer Format
1694 @section Group Buffer Format
1697 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1698 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1699 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1703 @node Group Line Specification
1704 @subsection Group Line Specification
1705 @cindex group buffer format
1707 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1708 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1710 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1713 25: news.announce.newusers
1714 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1719 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1720 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1721 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1722 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1724 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1725 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1726 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1727 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1728 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1729 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1731 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1733 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1734 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1735 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1736 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1737 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1739 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1740 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1741 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1743 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1748 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1751 Whether the group is subscribed.
1754 Level of subscribedness.
1757 Number of unread articles.
1760 Number of dormant articles.
1763 Number of ticked articles.
1766 Number of read articles.
1769 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1770 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1772 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1773 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1774 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1775 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1776 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1777 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1778 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1779 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1782 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1785 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1794 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1795 comment element in the group parameters.
1798 Newsgroup description.
1801 @samp{m} if moderated.
1804 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1813 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1817 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1820 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1821 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1822 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1823 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1824 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1827 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1829 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1833 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1836 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1840 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1841 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1842 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1843 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1844 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1845 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1850 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1851 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1852 group, or a bogus native group.
1855 @node Group Modeline Specification
1856 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1857 @cindex group modeline
1859 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1860 The mode line can be changed by setting
1861 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1862 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1866 The native news server.
1868 The native select method.
1872 @node Group Highlighting
1873 @subsection Group Highlighting
1874 @cindex highlighting
1875 @cindex group highlighting
1877 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1878 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1879 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1880 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1881 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1883 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1887 (cond (window-system
1888 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1889 (defface my-group-face-1
1890 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1891 (defface my-group-face-2
1892 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1893 (defface my-group-face-3
1894 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1895 (defface my-group-face-4
1896 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1897 (defface my-group-face-5
1898 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1900 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1901 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1902 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1903 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1904 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1905 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1908 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1910 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1917 The number of unread articles in the group.
1921 Whether the group is a mail group.
1923 The level of the group.
1925 The score of the group.
1927 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1929 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1930 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1932 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1933 topic being inserted.
1936 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1937 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1938 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1940 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1941 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1942 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1943 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1944 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1947 @node Group Maneuvering
1948 @section Group Maneuvering
1949 @cindex group movement
1951 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1952 expected, hopefully.
1958 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1959 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1960 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1966 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1967 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1968 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1972 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1973 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1977 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1978 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1982 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1983 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1984 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1988 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1989 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1990 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1993 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1999 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2000 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2001 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2006 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2007 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2008 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2012 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2013 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2014 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2017 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2018 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2019 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2020 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2024 @node Selecting a Group
2025 @section Selecting a Group
2026 @cindex group selection
2031 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2032 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2033 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2034 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2035 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2036 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2037 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2038 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2039 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2040 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2042 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2043 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2044 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2046 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2047 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2052 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2053 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2054 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2055 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2056 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2060 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2061 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2062 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2063 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2064 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2065 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2066 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2067 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2068 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2069 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2072 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2073 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2074 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2075 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2076 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2079 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2080 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2081 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2082 doing any processing of its contents
2083 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2084 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2085 manner will have no permanent effects.
2089 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2090 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2091 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2092 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2093 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2094 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2095 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2096 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2099 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2100 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2101 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2102 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2103 Which article this is is controlled by the
2104 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2110 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2113 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2116 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2118 @item unseen-or-unread
2119 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2120 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2124 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2128 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2129 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2131 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2132 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2133 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2134 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2138 @node Subscription Commands
2139 @section Subscription Commands
2140 @cindex subscription
2148 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2149 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2150 Toggle subscription to the current group
2151 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2157 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2158 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2159 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2160 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2166 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2167 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2168 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2174 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2175 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2178 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2179 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2180 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2181 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2182 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2188 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2189 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2193 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2194 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2197 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2198 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2199 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2200 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2201 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2202 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2203 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2204 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2205 @file{.newsrc} file.
2209 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2219 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2220 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2221 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2222 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2223 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2224 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2229 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2230 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2231 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2235 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2236 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2237 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2239 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2240 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2241 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2242 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2243 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2244 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2251 @section Group Levels
2255 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2256 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2257 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2258 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2259 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2261 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2267 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2268 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2269 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2270 prompted for a level.
2273 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2274 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2275 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2276 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2277 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2278 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2279 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2280 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2281 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2282 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2283 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2284 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2285 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2286 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2287 reasons of efficiency.
2289 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2290 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2292 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2293 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2294 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2295 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2296 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2297 groups are hidden, in a way.
2299 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2300 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2301 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2302 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2303 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2304 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2306 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2307 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2308 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2309 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2310 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2311 list of killed groups.)
2313 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2314 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2315 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2317 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2318 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2319 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2320 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2321 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2322 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2323 relevant valid ranges.
2325 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2326 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2327 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2328 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2329 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2330 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2333 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2334 one with the best level.
2336 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2337 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2338 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2341 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2342 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2343 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2344 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2347 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2348 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2349 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2350 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2352 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2353 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2354 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2355 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2356 to 5. The default is 6.
2360 @section Group Score
2365 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2366 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2367 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2370 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2371 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2372 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2373 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2374 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2375 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2376 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2377 least significant part.))
2379 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2380 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2381 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2382 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2383 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2384 action after each summary exit, you can add
2385 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2386 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2387 slow things down somewhat.
2390 @node Marking Groups
2391 @section Marking Groups
2392 @cindex marking groups
2394 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2395 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2396 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2397 bidding on those groups.
2399 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2400 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2401 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2409 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2410 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2416 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2417 Remove the mark from the current group
2418 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2422 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2423 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2427 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2428 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2432 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2433 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2437 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2438 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2439 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2442 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2444 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2445 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2446 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2447 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2448 the command to be executed.
2451 @node Foreign Groups
2452 @section Foreign Groups
2453 @cindex foreign groups
2455 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2456 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2457 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2458 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2465 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2466 @cindex making groups
2467 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2468 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2469 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2473 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2474 @cindex renaming groups
2475 Rename the current group to something else
2476 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2477 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2483 @findex gnus-group-customize
2484 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2488 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2489 @cindex renaming groups
2490 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2491 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2495 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2496 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2497 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2501 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2502 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2503 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2507 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2509 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2510 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2515 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2516 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2520 @cindex (ding) archive
2521 @cindex archive group
2522 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2523 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2524 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2525 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2526 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2527 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2528 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2532 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2534 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2535 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2536 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2537 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2541 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2543 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2544 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2545 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2549 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2550 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2552 Make a group based on some file or other
2553 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2554 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2555 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2556 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2557 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2558 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2559 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2560 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2561 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2565 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2566 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2567 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2568 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2572 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2576 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2577 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2578 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2579 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2580 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2581 @xref{Web Searches}.
2583 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2584 to a particular group by using a match string like
2585 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2588 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2589 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2590 This function will delete the current group
2591 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2592 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2593 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2594 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2595 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2599 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2600 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2601 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2605 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2606 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2607 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2610 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2613 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2614 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2615 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2616 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2617 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2618 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2622 @node Group Parameters
2623 @section Group Parameters
2624 @cindex group parameters
2626 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2627 Here's an example group parameter list:
2630 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2634 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2635 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2636 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2637 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2639 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2640 is an alist of regexps and values.
2642 The following group parameters can be used:
2647 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2650 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2653 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2654 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2655 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2656 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2657 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2659 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2660 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2661 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2662 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2663 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2664 list address instead.
2666 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2670 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2673 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2676 It is totally ignored
2677 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2678 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2680 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2681 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2682 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2683 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2684 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2686 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2687 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2688 sending the message.
2690 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2691 @cindex Mail List Groups
2692 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2693 entering summary buffer.
2695 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2700 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2701 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2702 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2703 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2704 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2705 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2707 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2708 directly uses this group parameter.
2712 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2713 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2714 of whether it has any unread articles.
2716 @item broken-reply-to
2717 @cindex broken-reply-to
2718 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2719 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2720 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2721 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2722 broken behavior. So there!
2726 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2727 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2731 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2732 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2733 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2738 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2739 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2740 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2741 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2742 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2743 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2744 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2745 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2746 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept artciles.
2750 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2751 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2752 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2754 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2757 @cindex total-expire
2758 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2759 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2760 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2761 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2764 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2768 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2769 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2770 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2771 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2772 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2773 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2776 @cindex score file group parameter
2777 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2778 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2779 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2782 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2783 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2784 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2785 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2788 @cindex admin-address
2789 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2790 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2791 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2792 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2796 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2797 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2801 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2804 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2805 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2808 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2812 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2814 Here are some examples:
2818 Display only unread articles.
2821 Display everything except expirable articles.
2823 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2824 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2828 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2829 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2830 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2831 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2832 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2836 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2837 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2838 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2842 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2843 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2844 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2848 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2849 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2850 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2852 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2854 @item ignored-charsets
2855 @cindex ignored-charset
2856 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2857 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2858 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2860 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2863 @cindex posting-style
2864 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2865 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2866 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2867 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2868 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2870 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2871 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2872 like this in the group parameters:
2877 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2882 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2883 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2887 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2888 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2889 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2890 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2891 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2895 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2896 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2897 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2898 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2900 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2901 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2902 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2903 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2906 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2907 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2911 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2914 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2915 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2916 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2917 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2918 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2919 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2920 @code{eval}ed there.
2922 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2923 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2924 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2925 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2926 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2927 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2928 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2929 parameters for the group.
2932 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2933 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2934 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2935 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2936 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2940 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2941 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2942 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2943 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2944 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2946 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2947 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2951 (setq gnus-parameters
2953 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2954 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2955 (gnus-summary-line-format
2956 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2960 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2964 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2968 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2971 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2972 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2975 @node Listing Groups
2976 @section Listing Groups
2977 @cindex group listing
2979 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2987 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2988 List all groups that have unread articles
2989 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2990 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2991 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2992 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2999 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3000 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3001 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3002 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3003 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3004 unsubscribed groups).
3008 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3009 List all unread groups on a specific level
3010 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3011 with no unread articles.
3015 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3016 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3017 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3018 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3023 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3024 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3028 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3029 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3030 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3034 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3035 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3039 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3040 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3041 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3042 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3043 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3044 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3045 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3046 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3050 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3051 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3052 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3056 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3057 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3058 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3062 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3063 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3067 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3068 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3072 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3073 List groups limited within the current selection
3074 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3078 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3079 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3083 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3084 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3088 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3089 @cindex visible group parameter
3090 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3091 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3092 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3093 get the same effect.
3095 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3096 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3097 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3098 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3099 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3102 @node Sorting Groups
3103 @section Sorting Groups
3104 @cindex sorting groups
3106 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3107 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3108 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3109 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3110 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3111 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3116 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3117 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3118 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3120 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3121 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3122 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3124 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3125 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3126 Sort by group level.
3128 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3129 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3130 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3132 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3133 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3134 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3135 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3137 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3138 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3139 Sort by number of unread articles.
3141 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3142 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3143 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3145 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3146 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3147 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3152 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3153 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3157 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3158 some sorting criteria:
3162 @kindex G S a (Group)
3163 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3164 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3165 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3168 @kindex G S u (Group)
3169 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3170 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3171 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3174 @kindex G S l (Group)
3175 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3176 Sort the group buffer by group level
3177 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3180 @kindex G S v (Group)
3181 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3182 Sort the group buffer by group score
3183 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3186 @kindex G S r (Group)
3187 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3188 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3189 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3192 @kindex G S m (Group)
3193 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3194 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3195 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3199 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3200 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3202 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3203 commands will sort in reverse order.
3205 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3209 @kindex G P a (Group)
3210 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3211 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3212 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3215 @kindex G P u (Group)
3216 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3217 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3218 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3221 @kindex G P l (Group)
3222 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3223 Sort the groups by group level
3224 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3227 @kindex G P v (Group)
3228 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3229 Sort the groups by group score
3230 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3233 @kindex G P r (Group)
3234 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3235 Sort the groups by group rank
3236 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3239 @kindex G P m (Group)
3240 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3241 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3242 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3245 @kindex G P s (Group)
3246 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3247 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3251 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3255 @node Group Maintenance
3256 @section Group Maintenance
3257 @cindex bogus groups
3262 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3263 Find bogus groups and delete them
3264 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3268 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3269 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3270 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3271 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3272 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3276 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3277 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3278 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3279 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3280 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3281 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3284 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3285 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3286 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3287 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3292 @node Browse Foreign Server
3293 @section Browse Foreign Server
3294 @cindex foreign servers
3295 @cindex browsing servers
3300 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3301 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3302 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3303 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3306 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3307 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3308 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3309 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3311 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3316 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3317 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3321 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3322 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3325 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3326 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3327 Enter the current group and display the first article
3328 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3331 @kindex RET (Browse)
3332 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3333 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3337 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3338 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3339 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3345 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3346 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3350 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3351 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3355 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3356 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3357 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3362 @section Exiting Gnus
3363 @cindex exiting Gnus
3365 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3370 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3371 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3372 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3373 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3377 @findex gnus-group-exit
3378 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3379 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3383 @findex gnus-group-quit
3384 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3385 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3388 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3389 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3390 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3391 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3392 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3397 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3398 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3399 trying to customize meta-variables.
3404 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3405 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3406 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3412 @section Group Topics
3415 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3416 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3417 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3418 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3419 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3420 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3424 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3425 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3436 2: alt.religion.emacs
3439 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3441 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3442 13: comp.sources.unix
3445 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3447 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3448 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3449 is a toggling command.)
3451 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3452 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3453 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3454 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3457 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3458 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3459 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3462 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3466 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3467 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3468 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3469 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3470 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3474 @node Topic Commands
3475 @subsection Topic Commands
3476 @cindex topic commands
3478 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3479 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3480 definitions slightly.
3482 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3483 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3484 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3485 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3486 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3487 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3489 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3496 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3497 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3498 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3502 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3504 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3505 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3506 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3507 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3510 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3511 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3512 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3513 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3517 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3518 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3519 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3520 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3526 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3527 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3528 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3532 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3533 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3534 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3537 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3538 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3539 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3540 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3541 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3543 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3544 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3548 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3549 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3556 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3558 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3559 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3560 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3561 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3562 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3563 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3567 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3573 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3574 Move the current group to some other topic
3575 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3576 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3580 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3581 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3585 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3586 Copy the current group to some other topic
3587 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3588 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3592 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3593 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3594 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3598 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3599 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3600 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3604 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3605 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3606 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3607 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3608 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3609 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3610 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3613 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3614 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3618 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3619 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3620 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3624 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3625 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3626 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3630 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3631 Toggle hiding empty topics
3632 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3636 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3637 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3638 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3641 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3642 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3643 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3644 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3647 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3648 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3649 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3650 expiry process (if any)
3651 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3655 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3656 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3659 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3660 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3661 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3665 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3666 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3667 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3670 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3671 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3672 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3675 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3676 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3677 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3681 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3682 @cindex group parameters
3683 @cindex topic parameters
3685 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3686 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3691 @node Topic Variables
3692 @subsection Topic Variables
3693 @cindex topic variables
3695 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3696 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3698 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3699 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3700 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3713 Number of groups in the topic.
3715 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3717 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3720 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3721 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3722 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3725 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3726 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3728 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3729 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3730 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3734 @subsection Topic Sorting
3735 @cindex topic sorting
3737 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3743 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3744 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3745 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3746 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3749 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3750 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3751 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3752 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3755 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3756 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3757 Sort the current topic by group level
3758 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3761 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3762 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3763 Sort the current topic by group score
3764 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3767 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3768 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3769 Sort the current topic by group rank
3770 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3773 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3774 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3775 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3776 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3779 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3780 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3781 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3782 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3786 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3787 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3788 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3789 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3793 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3794 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3798 @node Topic Topology
3799 @subsection Topic Topology
3800 @cindex topic topology
3803 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3809 2: alt.religion.emacs
3812 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3814 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3815 13: comp.sources.unix
3818 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3819 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3820 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3825 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3826 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3830 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3831 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3832 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3833 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3834 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3835 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3837 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3838 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3839 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3842 @node Topic Parameters
3843 @subsection Topic Parameters
3844 @cindex topic parameters
3846 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3847 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3848 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3850 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3855 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3856 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3857 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3860 @item subscribe-level
3861 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3862 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3863 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3867 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3868 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3869 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3870 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3876 2: alt.religion.emacs
3880 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3882 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3883 13: comp.sources.unix
3887 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3888 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3889 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3890 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3891 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3892 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3894 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3895 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3896 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3897 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3898 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3900 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3901 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3902 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3903 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3904 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3905 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3906 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3907 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3910 @node Misc Group Stuff
3911 @section Misc Group Stuff
3914 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3915 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3916 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3917 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3918 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3925 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3926 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3927 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3931 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3932 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3933 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3934 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3935 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3936 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3937 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3941 @findex gnus-group-mail
3942 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3943 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3944 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3945 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3949 @findex gnus-group-news
3950 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3951 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3952 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3954 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3955 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3956 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3957 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3958 for this to work though.
3962 Variables for the group buffer:
3966 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3967 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3968 is called after the group buffer has been
3971 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3972 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3973 is called after the group buffer is
3974 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3977 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3978 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3979 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3980 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3982 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3983 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3984 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3985 whether they are empty or not.
3987 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3988 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3989 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3990 non-ASCII group names.
3994 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3995 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3998 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3999 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4000 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4001 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4002 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4003 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
4007 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4008 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4013 @node Scanning New Messages
4014 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4015 @cindex new messages
4016 @cindex scanning new news
4022 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4023 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4024 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4025 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4026 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4027 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4032 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4033 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4034 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4035 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4036 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4037 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4038 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4040 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4041 @cindex activating groups
4043 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4044 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4049 @findex gnus-group-restart
4050 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4051 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4052 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4056 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4057 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4059 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4060 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4064 @node Group Information
4065 @subsection Group Information
4066 @cindex group information
4067 @cindex information on groups
4074 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4075 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4078 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4079 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4080 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4081 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4082 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4083 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4084 for fetching the file.
4086 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4087 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4091 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4092 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4094 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4095 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Gnus will use
4096 @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of the charter.
4097 If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control messages for the
4098 group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4102 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4103 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4104 @cindex control message
4105 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4106 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}).
4108 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-nil, Gnus
4109 will open the control messages in a browser using @code{browse-url}.
4110 Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp} and displayed in an
4113 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4114 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4115 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4119 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4121 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4122 @cindex describing groups
4123 @cindex group description
4124 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4125 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4126 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4130 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4131 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4132 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4139 @findex gnus-version
4140 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4144 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4145 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4148 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4151 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4152 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4156 @node Group Timestamp
4157 @subsection Group Timestamp
4159 @cindex group timestamps
4161 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4162 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4163 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4166 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4169 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4171 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4172 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4175 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4176 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4179 This will result in lines looking like:
4182 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4183 0: custom 19961002T012713
4186 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4187 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4191 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4192 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4195 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4196 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4200 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4201 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4202 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4203 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4205 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4211 @subsection File Commands
4212 @cindex file commands
4218 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4219 @vindex gnus-init-file
4220 @cindex reading init file
4221 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4222 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4226 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4227 @cindex saving .newsrc
4228 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4229 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4230 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4233 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4234 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4235 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4240 @node Sieve Commands
4241 @subsection Sieve Commands
4242 @cindex group sieve commands
4244 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4245 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4246 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4247 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4248 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4250 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4251 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4252 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4253 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4254 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4255 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4256 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4257 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4258 regenerate the Sieve script.
4260 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4261 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4262 is generated. If it is non-nil (the default) articles is placed in
4263 all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article is only
4264 placed in the group with the first matching rule. For example, the
4265 group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4266 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4267 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is nil. (When
4268 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-nil, it looks the same except that
4269 the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4272 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4273 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4278 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4284 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4285 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4286 @cindex generating sieve script
4287 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4288 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4292 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4293 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4294 @cindex updating sieve script
4295 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4296 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4297 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4302 @node Summary Buffer
4303 @chapter Summary Buffer
4304 @cindex summary buffer
4306 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4307 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4309 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4310 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4312 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4315 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4316 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4317 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4318 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4319 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4320 * Delayed Articles::
4321 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4322 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4323 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4324 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4325 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4326 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4327 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4328 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4329 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4330 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4331 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4332 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4333 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4334 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4335 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4336 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4337 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4338 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4339 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4340 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4341 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4342 or reselecting the current group.
4343 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4344 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4345 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4346 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4350 @node Summary Buffer Format
4351 @section Summary Buffer Format
4352 @cindex summary buffer format
4356 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4357 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4358 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4364 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4365 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4366 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4367 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4370 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4371 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4372 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4373 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4374 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4375 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4376 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4377 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4378 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4379 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4380 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4383 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4384 'mail-extract-address-components)
4387 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4388 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4389 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4390 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4393 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4394 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4396 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4397 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4398 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4399 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4400 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4402 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4403 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4404 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4405 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4406 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4407 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4409 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4411 The following format specification characters and extended format
4412 specification(s) are understood:
4418 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4419 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4421 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4422 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4423 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4425 Full @code{From} header.
4427 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4429 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4432 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4433 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4434 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4435 may be more thorough.
4437 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4440 Number of lines in the article.
4442 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4443 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4445 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4446 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4448 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4450 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4453 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4454 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4456 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4457 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4459 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4460 for adopted articles.
4462 One space for each thread level.
4464 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4466 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4469 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4470 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4471 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4474 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4476 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4477 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4478 default level. If the difference between
4479 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4480 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4488 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4490 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4496 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4497 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4499 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4500 article has any children.
4506 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4507 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4509 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4510 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4511 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4512 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4513 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4514 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4517 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4518 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4519 There can only be one such area.
4521 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4522 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4523 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4524 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4525 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4526 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4528 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4529 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4531 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4534 @node To From Newsgroups
4535 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4539 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4540 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4541 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4542 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4543 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4547 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4548 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4549 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4553 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4554 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4557 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4558 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4561 @findex gnus-extra-header
4562 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4563 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4564 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4567 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4571 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4572 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4573 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4574 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4575 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4576 headers are used instead.
4580 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4581 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4582 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4583 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4584 this variable, by entering the server buffer using `^', and then `g' on
4585 the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause regeneration.
4587 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4588 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4589 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4590 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4592 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4596 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4598 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4599 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4600 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4601 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4605 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4608 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4609 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4612 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4613 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4614 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4620 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4621 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4624 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4625 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4627 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4628 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4629 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4630 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4632 Here are the elements you can play with:
4638 Unprefixed group name.
4640 Current article number.
4642 Current article score.
4646 Number of unread articles in this group.
4648 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4651 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4652 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4653 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4654 and no unselected ones.
4656 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4657 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4659 Subject of the current article.
4661 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4663 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4665 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4667 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4669 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4671 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4675 @node Summary Highlighting
4676 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4680 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4681 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4682 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4683 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4684 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4686 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4687 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4688 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4689 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4691 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4692 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4693 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4694 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4696 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4697 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4698 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4699 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4700 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4701 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4704 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4705 ((> score default) . bold))
4707 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4708 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4712 @node Summary Maneuvering
4713 @section Summary Maneuvering
4714 @cindex summary movement
4716 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4717 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4719 None of these commands select articles.
4724 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4725 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4726 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4727 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4728 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4732 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4733 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4734 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4735 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4736 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4739 @kindex G g (Summary)
4740 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4741 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4742 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4745 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4746 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4747 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4748 to the group buffer.
4750 Variables related to summary movement:
4754 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4755 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4756 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4757 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4758 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4759 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4760 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4761 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4762 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4763 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4764 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4765 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4766 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4767 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4769 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4770 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4771 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4772 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4773 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4774 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4775 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4777 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4779 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4780 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4781 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4782 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4783 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4785 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4786 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4787 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4788 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4789 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4790 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4791 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4792 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4795 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4796 the given number of lines from the top.
4801 @node Choosing Articles
4802 @section Choosing Articles
4803 @cindex selecting articles
4806 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4807 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4811 @node Choosing Commands
4812 @subsection Choosing Commands
4814 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4815 and they all select and display an article.
4817 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4818 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4822 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4823 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4824 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4825 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4830 @kindex G n (Summary)
4831 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4832 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4833 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4838 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4839 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4840 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4845 @kindex G N (Summary)
4846 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4847 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4852 @kindex G P (Summary)
4853 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4854 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4857 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4858 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4859 Go to the next article with the same subject
4860 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4863 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4864 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4865 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4866 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4870 @kindex G f (Summary)
4872 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4873 Go to the first unread article
4874 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4878 @kindex G b (Summary)
4880 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4881 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4882 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4883 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4888 @kindex G l (Summary)
4889 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4890 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4893 @kindex G o (Summary)
4894 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4896 @cindex article history
4897 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4898 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4899 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4900 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4901 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4902 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4907 @kindex G j (Summary)
4908 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4909 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4910 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4915 @node Choosing Variables
4916 @subsection Choosing Variables
4918 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4921 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4922 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4923 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4924 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4925 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4926 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4928 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4929 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4930 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4931 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4933 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4934 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4935 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4936 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4937 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4938 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4939 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4940 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4941 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4942 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4943 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4944 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4945 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4946 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4951 @node Paging the Article
4952 @section Scrolling the Article
4953 @cindex article scrolling
4958 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4959 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4960 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4961 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4962 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4965 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4966 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4967 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4970 @kindex RET (Summary)
4971 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4972 Scroll the current article one line forward
4973 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4976 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4977 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4978 Scroll the current article one line backward
4979 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4983 @kindex A g (Summary)
4985 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4986 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4987 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4988 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4989 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4990 the way it came from the server.
4992 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4993 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4994 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4997 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5002 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5007 @kindex A < (Summary)
5008 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5009 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5010 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5015 @kindex A > (Summary)
5016 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5017 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5021 @kindex A s (Summary)
5023 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5024 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5025 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5029 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5030 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5035 @node Reply Followup and Post
5036 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5039 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5040 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5041 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5042 * Canceling and Superseding::
5046 @node Summary Mail Commands
5047 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5049 @cindex composing mail
5051 Commands for composing a mail message:
5057 @kindex S r (Summary)
5059 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5060 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5061 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5062 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5063 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5068 @kindex S R (Summary)
5069 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5070 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5071 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5072 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5073 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5076 @kindex S w (Summary)
5077 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5078 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5079 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5080 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5081 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5084 @kindex S W (Summary)
5085 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5086 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5087 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5088 the process/prefix convention.
5091 @kindex S v (Summary)
5092 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5093 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5094 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5095 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5096 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5097 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5100 @kindex S V (Summary)
5101 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5102 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5103 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5104 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5107 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5108 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5109 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5110 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5113 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5114 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5115 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5116 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5117 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5121 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5122 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5123 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5124 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5125 Forward the current article to some other person
5126 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5127 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5128 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5129 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5130 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5131 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5132 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5133 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5134 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime}
5140 @kindex S m (Summary)
5141 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5142 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5143 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5144 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5145 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5150 @kindex S i (Summary)
5151 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5152 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5153 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5154 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5156 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5157 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5158 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5159 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5160 for this to work though.
5163 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5164 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5165 @cindex bouncing mail
5166 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5167 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5168 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5169 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5170 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5171 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5172 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5173 very well fail, though.
5176 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5177 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5178 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5179 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5180 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5181 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5182 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5183 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5184 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5185 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5187 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5188 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5189 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5190 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5191 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5193 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5194 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5197 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5198 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5199 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5200 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5201 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5204 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5205 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5206 @cindex crossposting
5207 @cindex excessive crossposting
5208 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5209 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5211 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5212 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5213 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5214 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5215 command understands the process/prefix convention
5216 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5220 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5221 Manual}, for more information.
5224 @node Summary Post Commands
5225 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5227 @cindex composing news
5229 Commands for posting a news article:
5235 @kindex S p (Summary)
5236 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5237 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5238 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5239 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5240 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5245 @kindex S f (Summary)
5246 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5247 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5248 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5252 @kindex S F (Summary)
5254 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5255 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5256 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5257 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5258 process/prefix convention.
5261 @kindex S n (Summary)
5262 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5263 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5264 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5267 @kindex S N (Summary)
5268 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5269 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5270 message through mail and include the original message
5271 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5272 the process/prefix convention.
5275 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5276 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5277 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5278 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5279 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5280 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5281 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5282 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5283 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5284 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5285 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5286 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5287 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section.
5290 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5291 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5293 @cindex making digests
5294 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5295 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5296 process/prefix convention.
5299 @kindex S u (Summary)
5300 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5301 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5302 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5303 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5306 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5307 Manual}, for more information.
5310 @node Summary Message Commands
5311 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5315 @kindex S y (Summary)
5316 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5317 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5318 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5319 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5320 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5325 @node Canceling and Superseding
5326 @subsection Canceling Articles
5327 @cindex canceling articles
5328 @cindex superseding articles
5330 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5331 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5333 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5335 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5337 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5338 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5339 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5340 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5341 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5342 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5344 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5345 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5348 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5349 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5350 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5352 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5353 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5354 your original article.
5356 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5358 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5359 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5360 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5363 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5364 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5365 have posted almost the same article twice.
5367 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5368 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5369 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5370 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5371 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5372 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5373 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5374 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5375 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5376 canceled/superseded.
5378 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5380 @node Delayed Articles
5381 @section Delayed Articles
5382 @cindex delayed sending
5383 @cindex send delayed
5385 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5386 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5387 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5388 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5391 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5394 @findex gnus-delay-article
5395 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5396 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5397 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5398 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5402 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5403 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5404 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5405 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5408 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5409 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5410 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5413 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5414 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5415 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5416 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5417 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5418 that means a time tomorrow.
5421 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5422 couple of variables:
5425 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5426 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5427 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5428 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5430 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5431 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5432 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5433 formats described above.
5435 @item gnus-delay-group
5436 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5437 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5438 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5439 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5441 @item gnus-delay-header
5442 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5443 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5444 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5445 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5448 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5449 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5450 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5451 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5452 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5454 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5455 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5456 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5457 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5458 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5459 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5462 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5463 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5464 By default, this function installs the @kbd{C-c C-j} key binding in
5465 Message mode and @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5466 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts two optional arguments,
5467 @code{no-keymap} and @code{no-check}. If @code{no-keymap} is non-nil,
5468 the @kbd{C-c C-j} binding is not intalled. If @code{no-check} is
5469 non-nil, @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed.
5471 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to change the
5472 keymap but not to change @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. Presumably, you
5473 want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles. Just don't
5474 forget to set that up :-)
5478 @node Marking Articles
5479 @section Marking Articles
5480 @cindex article marking
5481 @cindex article ticking
5484 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5486 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5487 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5488 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5490 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5493 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5494 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5495 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5499 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5503 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5504 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5505 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5509 @node Unread Articles
5510 @subsection Unread Articles
5512 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5517 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5518 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5520 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5521 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5522 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5523 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5524 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5525 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5526 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5529 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5530 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5532 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5533 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5534 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5535 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5539 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5540 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5542 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5547 @subsection Read Articles
5548 @cindex expirable mark
5550 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5555 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5556 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5557 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5560 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5561 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5564 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5565 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5566 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5569 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5570 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5573 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5574 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5577 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5578 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5581 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5582 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5585 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5586 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5589 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5590 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5593 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5594 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5598 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5599 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5600 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5604 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5605 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5607 One more special mark, though:
5611 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5612 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5614 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5615 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5616 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5617 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5623 @subsection Other Marks
5624 @cindex process mark
5627 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5633 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5634 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5635 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5636 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5637 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5640 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5641 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5642 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5643 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5646 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5647 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5648 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5651 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5652 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5653 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5656 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5657 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5658 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5659 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5662 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5663 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5664 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5665 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5666 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5667 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5670 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5671 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5672 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5673 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5676 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5677 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5678 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5679 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5680 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5683 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5684 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5685 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5686 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5687 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5688 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5692 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5693 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5694 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5696 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5697 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5698 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5702 @subsection Setting Marks
5703 @cindex setting marks
5705 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5710 @kindex M c (Summary)
5711 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5712 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5713 @cindex mark as unread
5714 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5715 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5721 @kindex M t (Summary)
5722 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5723 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5724 @xref{Article Caching}.
5729 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5730 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5731 Mark the current article as dormant
5732 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5736 @kindex M d (Summary)
5738 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5739 Mark the current article as read
5740 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5744 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5745 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5746 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5751 @kindex M k (Summary)
5752 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5753 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5754 and then select the next unread article
5755 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5759 @kindex M K (Summary)
5760 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5761 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5762 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5763 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5766 @kindex M C (Summary)
5767 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5768 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5769 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5772 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5773 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5774 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5775 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5778 @kindex M H (Summary)
5779 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5780 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5781 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5784 @kindex M h (Summary)
5785 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5786 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5787 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5790 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5791 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5792 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5793 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5796 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5797 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5798 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5799 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5803 @kindex M e (Summary)
5805 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5806 Mark the current article as expirable
5807 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5810 @kindex M b (Summary)
5811 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5812 Set a bookmark in the current article
5813 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5816 @kindex M B (Summary)
5817 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5818 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5819 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5822 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5823 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5824 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5825 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5828 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5829 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5830 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5831 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5834 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5835 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5836 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5837 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5838 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5841 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5842 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5843 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5844 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5845 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5846 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5847 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5848 The default is @code{t}.
5851 @node Generic Marking Commands
5852 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5854 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5855 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5856 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5857 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5858 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5861 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5862 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5865 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5866 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5867 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5868 to list in this manual.
5870 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5871 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5872 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5873 article, you could say something like:
5876 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5877 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5878 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5884 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5885 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5889 @node Setting Process Marks
5890 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5891 @cindex setting process marks
5898 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5899 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5900 Mark the current article with the process mark
5901 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5902 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5906 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5907 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5908 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5909 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5912 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5913 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5914 Remove the process mark from all articles
5915 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5918 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5919 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5920 Invert the list of process marked articles
5921 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5924 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5925 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5926 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5927 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5930 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5931 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5932 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5933 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5936 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5937 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5938 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5942 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
5943 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
5946 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5947 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5948 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5949 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5952 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5953 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5954 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5955 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5958 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5959 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5960 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5961 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5964 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5965 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5966 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5969 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5970 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5971 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5972 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5975 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5976 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5977 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5980 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5981 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5982 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5983 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5986 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5987 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5988 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5989 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5992 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5993 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5994 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5995 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5998 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5999 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6000 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6001 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6005 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6006 set process marks based on article body contents.
6013 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6014 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6015 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6018 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6019 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6020 additional articles.
6026 @kindex / / (Summary)
6027 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6028 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6029 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6033 @kindex / a (Summary)
6034 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6035 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6036 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6040 @kindex / x (Summary)
6041 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6042 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6043 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6044 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6049 @kindex / u (Summary)
6051 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6052 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6053 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6054 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6055 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6058 @kindex / m (Summary)
6059 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6060 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6061 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6064 @kindex / t (Summary)
6065 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6066 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6067 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6068 articles younger than that number of days.
6071 @kindex / n (Summary)
6072 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6073 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6074 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6075 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6078 @kindex / w (Summary)
6079 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6080 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6081 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6085 @kindex / . (Summary)
6086 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6087 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6088 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6091 @kindex / v (Summary)
6092 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6093 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6094 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6097 @kindex / p (Summary)
6098 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6099 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6100 group parameter predicate
6101 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6102 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6106 @kindex M S (Summary)
6107 @kindex / E (Summary)
6108 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6109 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6110 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6113 @kindex / D (Summary)
6114 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6115 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6116 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6119 @kindex / * (Summary)
6120 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6121 Include all cached articles in the limit
6122 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6125 @kindex / d (Summary)
6126 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6127 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6128 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6131 @kindex / M (Summary)
6132 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6133 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6136 @kindex / T (Summary)
6137 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6138 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6141 @kindex / c (Summary)
6142 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6143 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6144 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6147 @kindex / C (Summary)
6148 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6149 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6150 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6151 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6154 @kindex / N (Summary)
6155 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6156 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6157 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6160 @kindex / o (Summary)
6161 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6162 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6163 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6171 @cindex article threading
6173 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6174 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6175 hierarchical fashion.
6177 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6178 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6179 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6180 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6181 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6182 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6183 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6185 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6189 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6192 A tree-like article structure.
6195 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6198 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6199 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6200 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6201 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6202 called loose threads.
6204 @item thread gathering
6205 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6207 @item sparse threads
6208 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6209 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6215 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6216 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6220 @node Customizing Threading
6221 @subsection Customizing Threading
6222 @cindex customizing threading
6225 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6226 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6227 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6228 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6233 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6236 @cindex loose threads
6239 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6240 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6241 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6242 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6243 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6244 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6246 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6247 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6248 There are four possible values:
6252 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6253 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6254 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6255 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6256 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6261 @cindex adopting articles
6266 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6267 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6268 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6269 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6272 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6273 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6274 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6275 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6276 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6277 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6278 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6281 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6282 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6283 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6287 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6288 display them after one another.
6291 Don't gather loose threads.
6294 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6295 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6296 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6297 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6298 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6299 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6300 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6301 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6302 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6303 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6304 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6306 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6307 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6308 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6311 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6312 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6313 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6314 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6315 simplification is used.
6317 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6318 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6319 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6320 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6322 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6324 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6330 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6331 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6332 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6333 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6338 (mapconcat 'identity
6339 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6341 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6344 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6347 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6348 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6349 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6350 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6351 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6352 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6354 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6357 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6358 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6359 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6361 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6362 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6365 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6366 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6367 Remove excessive whitespace.
6369 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6370 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6371 Remove all whitespace.
6374 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6377 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6378 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6379 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6380 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6381 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6382 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6383 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6384 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6386 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6387 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6388 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6389 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6390 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6391 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6392 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6393 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6394 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6398 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6399 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6400 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6401 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6403 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6404 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6405 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6408 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6412 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6413 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6419 @node Filling In Threads
6420 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6423 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6424 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6425 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6426 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6427 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6428 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6429 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6430 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6431 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6432 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6433 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6434 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6437 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6438 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6439 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6441 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6442 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6443 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6444 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6445 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6446 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6447 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6448 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6449 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6450 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6451 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6452 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6453 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6454 @code{nil} by default.
6456 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6457 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6458 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6459 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6460 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6461 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6462 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6464 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6465 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6466 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6471 @node More Threading
6472 @subsubsection More Threading
6475 @item gnus-show-threads
6476 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6477 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6478 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6479 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6480 slower and more awkward.
6482 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6483 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6484 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6487 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6488 Avaliable predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6489 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6494 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6495 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6496 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6499 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6500 unread, but you get my drift.)
6503 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6504 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6505 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6506 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6507 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6508 threads are expunged.
6510 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6511 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6512 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6515 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6516 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6517 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6518 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6519 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6520 result in a new thread.
6522 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6523 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6524 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6527 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6528 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6529 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6530 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6531 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6532 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6533 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6534 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6535 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6536 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6537 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6542 @node Low-Level Threading
6543 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6547 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6548 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6549 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6551 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6552 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6553 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6554 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6555 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6556 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6557 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6558 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6559 meaningful. Here's one example:
6562 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6564 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6565 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6567 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6569 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6576 @node Thread Commands
6577 @subsection Thread Commands
6578 @cindex thread commands
6584 @kindex T k (Summary)
6585 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6586 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6587 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6588 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6589 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6594 @kindex T l (Summary)
6595 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6596 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6597 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6598 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6601 @kindex T i (Summary)
6602 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6603 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6604 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6607 @kindex T # (Summary)
6608 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6609 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6610 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6613 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6614 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6615 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6616 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6619 @kindex T T (Summary)
6620 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6621 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6624 @kindex T s (Summary)
6625 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6626 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6627 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6630 @kindex T h (Summary)
6631 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6632 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6635 @kindex T S (Summary)
6636 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6637 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6640 @kindex T H (Summary)
6641 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6642 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6645 @kindex T t (Summary)
6646 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6647 Re-thread the current article's thread
6648 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6649 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6652 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6653 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6654 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6655 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6659 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6660 understand the numeric prefix.
6665 @kindex T n (Summary)
6667 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6669 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6670 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6671 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6674 @kindex T p (Summary)
6676 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6678 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6679 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6680 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6683 @kindex T d (Summary)
6684 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6685 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6688 @kindex T u (Summary)
6689 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6690 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6693 @kindex T o (Summary)
6694 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6695 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6698 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6699 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6700 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6701 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6702 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6703 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6704 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6705 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6706 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6707 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6708 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6709 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6713 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6714 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6716 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6717 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6718 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6719 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6720 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6721 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6722 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6723 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6724 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6725 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6726 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6727 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6728 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6730 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6731 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6732 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6733 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6734 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6735 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6736 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6737 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6739 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6740 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6741 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6743 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6744 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6745 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6746 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6747 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6748 ascending article order.
6750 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6751 by number, you could do something like:
6754 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6755 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6756 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6757 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6760 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6761 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6762 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6763 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6764 which the articles arrived.
6766 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6770 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6772 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6773 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6776 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6777 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6778 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6779 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6782 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6783 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6784 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6785 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6786 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6787 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6788 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6789 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6790 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6791 variable. It is very similar to the
6792 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6793 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6794 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6795 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6796 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6797 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6798 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6800 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6804 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6805 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6806 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6811 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6812 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6813 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6814 @cindex article pre-fetch
6817 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6818 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6819 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6820 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6821 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6823 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6824 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6826 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6827 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6828 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6829 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6830 connection is blocked.
6832 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6833 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6834 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6835 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6837 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6838 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6839 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6840 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6843 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6846 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6847 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6848 happen automatically.
6850 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6851 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6852 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6853 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6854 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6855 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6856 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6858 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6859 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6860 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6861 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6862 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6863 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6864 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6865 data structure as the only parameter.
6867 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6870 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6871 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6872 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6873 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6876 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6879 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6880 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6881 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6883 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6884 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6885 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6886 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6890 Remove articles when they are read.
6893 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6896 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6898 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6899 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6900 @c from the next group.
6903 @node Article Caching
6904 @section Article Caching
6905 @cindex article caching
6908 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6909 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6910 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6911 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6912 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6914 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6916 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6917 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6918 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6919 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6920 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6921 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6922 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6923 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6925 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6926 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6927 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6928 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6929 as dormant, and don't worry.
6931 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6933 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6934 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6935 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6936 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6937 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6938 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6939 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6940 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6941 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6942 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6944 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6945 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6946 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6947 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6948 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6949 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6950 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6951 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6952 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6953 not then be downloaded by this command.
6955 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6956 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6957 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6958 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6959 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6960 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6962 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6963 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6964 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6965 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6966 variables, the group is not cached.
6968 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6969 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6970 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6971 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6972 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6973 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6974 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6975 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6976 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6979 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
6980 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
6981 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
6982 where, isn't that cool?
6984 @node Persistent Articles
6985 @section Persistent Articles
6986 @cindex persistent articles
6988 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6989 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6990 useful in my opinion.
6992 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6993 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6994 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6995 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6996 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6997 the expiry going on at the news server.
6999 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7000 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7001 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7007 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7008 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7011 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7012 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7013 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7014 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7018 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7020 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7021 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7022 interested in persistent articles:
7025 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7029 @node Article Backlog
7030 @section Article Backlog
7032 @cindex article backlog
7034 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7035 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7036 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7037 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7038 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7039 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7040 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7041 increase memory usage some.
7043 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7044 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7045 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7046 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7047 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7048 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7049 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7051 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
7054 @node Saving Articles
7055 @section Saving Articles
7056 @cindex saving articles
7058 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7059 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7060 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7061 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7062 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7064 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7065 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7066 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7068 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7069 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7070 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7072 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7073 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7074 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7075 deleted before saving.
7081 @kindex O o (Summary)
7083 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7084 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7085 Save the current article using the default article saver
7086 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7089 @kindex O m (Summary)
7090 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7091 Save the current article in mail format
7092 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7095 @kindex O r (Summary)
7096 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7097 Save the current article in rmail format
7098 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7101 @kindex O f (Summary)
7102 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7103 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7104 Save the current article in plain file format
7105 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7108 @kindex O F (Summary)
7109 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7110 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7111 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7114 @kindex O b (Summary)
7115 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7116 Save the current article body in plain file format
7117 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7120 @kindex O h (Summary)
7121 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7122 Save the current article in mh folder format
7123 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7126 @kindex O v (Summary)
7127 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7128 Save the current article in a VM folder
7129 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7133 @kindex O p (Summary)
7135 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7136 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7137 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7140 @kindex O P (Summary)
7141 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7142 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7143 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7144 external program Muttprint (see
7145 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7146 options to use is controlled by the variable
7147 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7151 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7152 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7153 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7154 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7155 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7156 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7157 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7158 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7159 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7160 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7161 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7162 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7166 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7167 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7168 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7169 functions below, or you can create your own.
7173 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7174 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7175 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7176 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7177 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7178 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7179 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7181 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7182 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7183 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7184 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7185 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7186 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7188 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7189 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7190 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7191 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7192 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7193 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7194 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7196 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7197 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7198 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7199 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7200 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7201 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7203 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7204 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7205 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7206 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7207 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7209 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7210 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7211 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7212 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7213 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7216 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7217 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7218 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7219 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7220 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7222 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7223 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7224 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7225 reader to use this setting.
7228 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7229 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7230 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7231 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7234 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7235 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7236 available functions that generate names:
7240 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7241 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7242 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7244 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7245 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7246 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7248 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7249 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7250 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7252 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7253 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7254 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7256 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7257 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7258 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7261 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7262 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7263 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7264 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7265 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7269 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7270 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7271 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7272 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7275 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7276 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7277 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7278 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7279 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7280 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7281 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7282 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7283 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7285 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7286 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7287 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7288 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7290 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7291 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7292 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7295 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7296 lots of mail groups called things like
7297 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7298 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7299 following will do just that:
7302 (defun my-save-name (group)
7303 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7304 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7306 (setq gnus-split-methods
7307 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7312 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7313 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7314 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7315 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7316 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7317 all the files in the top level directory
7318 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7319 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7320 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7321 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7323 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7324 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7325 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7326 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7327 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7330 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7334 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7335 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7336 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7339 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7340 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7341 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7342 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7345 @node Decoding Articles
7346 @section Decoding Articles
7347 @cindex decoding articles
7349 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7350 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7353 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7354 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7355 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7356 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7357 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7358 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7362 @cindex article series
7363 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7364 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7365 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7366 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7367 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7369 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7370 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7371 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7373 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7374 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7375 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7377 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7378 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7379 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7382 @node Uuencoded Articles
7383 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7385 @cindex uuencoded articles
7390 @kindex X u (Summary)
7391 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7392 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7393 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7396 @kindex X U (Summary)
7397 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7398 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7399 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7402 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7403 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7404 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7407 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7408 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7409 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7410 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7414 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7415 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7416 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7417 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7418 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7420 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7421 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7422 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7423 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7426 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7427 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7428 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7429 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7430 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7431 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7435 @node Shell Archives
7436 @subsection Shell Archives
7438 @cindex shell archives
7439 @cindex shared articles
7441 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7442 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7443 some commands to deal with these:
7448 @kindex X s (Summary)
7449 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7450 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7453 @kindex X S (Summary)
7454 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7455 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7458 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7459 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7460 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7463 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7464 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7465 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7466 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7470 @node PostScript Files
7471 @subsection PostScript Files
7477 @kindex X p (Summary)
7478 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7479 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7482 @kindex X P (Summary)
7483 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7484 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7485 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7488 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7489 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7490 View the current PostScript series
7491 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7494 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7495 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7496 View and save the current PostScript series
7497 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7502 @subsection Other Files
7506 @kindex X o (Summary)
7507 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7508 Save the current series
7509 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7512 @kindex X b (Summary)
7513 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7514 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7515 doesn't really work yet.
7519 @node Decoding Variables
7520 @subsection Decoding Variables
7522 Adjective, not verb.
7525 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7526 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7527 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7531 @node Rule Variables
7532 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7533 @cindex rule variables
7535 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7536 variables are of the form
7539 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7546 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7547 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7549 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7550 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7553 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7554 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7557 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7558 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7559 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7560 user and default view rules.
7562 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7563 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7564 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7569 @node Other Decode Variables
7570 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7573 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7575 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7576 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7577 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7578 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7579 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7583 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7584 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7587 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7588 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7589 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7592 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7593 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7594 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7595 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7596 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7599 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7600 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7601 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7603 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7604 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7605 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7606 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7607 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7610 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7611 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7612 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7614 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7615 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7616 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7617 looking for files to display.
7619 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7620 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7621 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7624 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7625 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7626 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7629 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7630 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7631 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7634 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7635 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7636 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7639 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7640 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7641 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7642 decoded articles as unread.
7644 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7645 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7646 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7647 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7649 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7650 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7651 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7653 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7654 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7656 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7657 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7658 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7659 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7661 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7662 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7663 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7664 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7665 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7666 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7667 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7668 simply dropped them.
7673 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7674 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7678 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7679 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7680 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7681 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7682 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7683 for you when you post the article.
7685 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7686 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7687 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7688 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7690 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7691 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7692 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7693 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7694 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7695 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7696 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7698 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7699 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7700 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7701 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7702 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7703 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7704 Default is @code{t}.
7710 @subsection Viewing Files
7711 @cindex viewing files
7712 @cindex pseudo-articles
7714 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7715 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7716 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7717 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7718 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7719 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7720 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7722 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7723 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7724 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7725 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7727 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7728 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7729 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7731 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7732 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7733 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7734 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7735 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7737 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7738 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7739 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7740 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7741 a list of parameters to that command.
7743 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7744 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7745 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7747 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7748 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7749 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7752 @node Article Treatment
7753 @section Article Treatment
7755 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7756 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7757 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7758 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7759 these articles easier.
7762 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7763 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7764 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7765 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7766 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7767 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7768 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7769 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7770 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7771 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7775 @node Article Highlighting
7776 @subsection Article Highlighting
7777 @cindex highlighting
7779 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7780 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7785 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7786 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7787 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7788 Do much highlighting of the current article
7789 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7790 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7793 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7794 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7795 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7796 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7797 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7798 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7799 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7800 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7801 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7802 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7803 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7804 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7807 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7808 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7809 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7811 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7814 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7816 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7817 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7818 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7820 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7821 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7822 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7824 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7825 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7826 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7827 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7828 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7829 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7831 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7832 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7833 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7835 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7836 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7837 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7839 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7840 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7841 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7842 that it's a citation.
7844 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7845 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7846 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7848 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7849 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7850 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7852 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7853 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7854 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7855 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7861 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7862 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7863 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7864 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7865 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7866 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7867 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7868 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7873 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7876 @node Article Fontisizing
7877 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7879 @cindex article emphasis
7881 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7882 @kindex W e (Summary)
7883 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7884 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7885 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7886 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7888 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7889 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7890 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7891 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7892 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7893 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7894 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7895 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7899 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7900 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7901 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7910 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7911 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7912 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7913 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7914 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7915 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7916 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7917 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7918 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7919 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7920 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7921 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7922 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7924 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7925 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7926 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7930 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7933 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7935 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7936 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7937 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7938 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7940 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7943 @node Article Hiding
7944 @subsection Article Hiding
7945 @cindex article hiding
7947 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7948 too much cruft in most articles.
7953 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7954 @findex gnus-article-hide
7955 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7956 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7957 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7960 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7961 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7962 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7966 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7967 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7968 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7969 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7972 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7973 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7974 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7978 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7979 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7980 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7981 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7982 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7983 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7984 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7985 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7989 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7990 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7991 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7992 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7997 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7998 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7999 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8000 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
8001 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
8002 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
8003 articles that have signatures in them do:
8005 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
8007 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
8009 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
8010 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
8012 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8015 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
8020 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8021 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8022 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8023 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8026 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8027 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8030 @cindex stripping advertisements
8031 @cindex advertisements
8032 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8033 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8034 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8035 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8036 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8037 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8038 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8039 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8040 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8041 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8045 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8046 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8047 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8048 customizing the hiding:
8052 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8053 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8054 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8055 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8056 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8057 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8058 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8063 Starting point of the hidden text.
8065 Ending point of the hidden text.
8067 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8069 Number of lines of hidden text.
8072 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8073 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8074 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8075 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8076 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8081 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8082 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8084 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8085 following two variables:
8088 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8089 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8090 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8091 50), hide the cited text.
8093 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8094 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8095 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8100 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8101 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8102 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8103 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8104 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8105 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8109 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8110 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8111 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8113 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8114 citation customization.
8116 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8120 @node Article Washing
8121 @subsection Article Washing
8123 @cindex article washing
8125 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8126 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8128 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8129 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8132 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8133 articles by default.
8138 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8139 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8143 @kindex W l (Summary)
8144 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8145 Remove page breaks from the current article
8146 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8150 @kindex W r (Summary)
8151 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8152 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8153 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8154 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8155 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8156 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8158 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8159 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8160 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8161 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8165 @kindex W t (Summary)
8167 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8168 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8169 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8172 @kindex W v (Summary)
8173 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8174 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8175 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8178 @kindex W o (Summary)
8179 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8180 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8183 @kindex W d (Summary)
8184 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8185 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8187 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8189 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8190 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8191 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8192 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8195 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8196 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8197 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8198 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8201 @kindex W k (Summary)
8202 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8203 @cindex Outlook Express
8204 Deuglify broken Outlook (Express) articles and redisplay
8205 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8208 @kindex W w (Summary)
8209 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8210 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8212 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8216 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8217 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8218 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8221 @kindex W C (Summary)
8222 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8223 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8224 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8227 @kindex W c (Summary)
8228 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8229 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8230 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8231 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8232 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8235 @kindex W q (Summary)
8236 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8237 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8238 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
8239 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
8240 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
8241 readable to me. Note that this is usually done automatically by
8242 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
8243 header that says that this encoding has been done.
8244 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8247 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8248 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8249 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8250 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8251 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8252 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8253 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8255 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8258 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8259 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8260 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8261 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8262 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8265 @kindex W u (Summary)
8266 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8267 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8268 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8269 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8270 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8273 @kindex W h (Summary)
8274 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8275 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8276 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8277 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8279 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8281 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8282 The default is to use the function specified by
8283 @code{mm-inline-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Customization, , , emacs-mime})
8284 to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by the
8285 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8293 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8297 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8300 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8303 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8308 @kindex W b (Summary)
8309 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8310 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8311 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8314 @kindex W B (Summary)
8315 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8316 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8317 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8320 @kindex W p (Summary)
8321 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8322 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8323 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8324 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8325 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8326 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8327 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8330 @kindex W s (Summary)
8331 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8332 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8333 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8336 @kindex W a (Summary)
8337 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8338 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8339 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8342 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8343 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8344 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8345 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8348 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8349 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8350 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8351 lines with a single empty line.
8352 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8355 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8356 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8357 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8358 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8361 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8362 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8363 Do all the three commands above
8364 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8367 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8368 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8369 Remove all blank lines
8370 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8373 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8374 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8375 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8376 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8379 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8380 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8381 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8382 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8386 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8389 @node Article Header
8390 @subsection Article Header
8392 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8397 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8398 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8399 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8402 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8403 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8404 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8405 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8408 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8409 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8410 Fold all the message headers
8411 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8415 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8416 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8417 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8422 @node Article Buttons
8423 @subsection Article Buttons
8426 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8427 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8428 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8429 button on these references.
8431 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8432 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8433 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8434 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8435 one that handles article heads:
8439 @item gnus-button-alist
8440 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8441 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8444 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8450 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8451 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8452 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a variable containing a
8453 regexp, useful variables to use include @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8456 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8457 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8458 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8461 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8462 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8463 avoid false matches.
8466 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8469 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8470 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8474 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8477 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8480 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8481 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8482 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8483 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8484 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8487 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8490 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8492 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8493 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8494 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8495 default values of the variables above.
8497 @item gnus-article-button-face
8498 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8499 Face used on buttons.
8501 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8502 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8503 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8507 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8511 @subsection Article Date
8513 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8514 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8515 when the article was sent.
8520 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8521 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8522 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8523 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8526 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8527 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8529 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8530 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8533 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8534 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8535 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8538 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8539 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8540 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8541 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8544 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8545 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8546 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8547 @findex format-time-string
8548 Display the date using a user-defined format
8549 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8550 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8551 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8552 for a list of possible format specs.
8555 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8556 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8557 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8558 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8559 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8560 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8563 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8566 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8567 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8570 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8571 into wonderful absurdities.
8573 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8576 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8579 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8580 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8584 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8585 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8586 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8587 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8588 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8589 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8590 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8594 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8595 preferred format automatically.
8598 @node Article Display
8599 @subsection Article Display
8604 These commands add various frivolous display gimmics to the article
8605 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8607 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8608 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8610 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8611 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8613 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8614 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8616 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8621 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8622 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8623 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8624 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8627 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8628 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8629 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8632 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8633 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8634 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8637 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8638 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8639 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8640 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8643 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8644 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8645 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8646 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8649 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8650 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8651 Remove all images from the article buffer
8652 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8658 @node Article Signature
8659 @subsection Article Signature
8661 @cindex article signature
8663 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8664 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8665 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8666 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8667 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8668 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8669 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8670 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8671 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8674 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8675 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8676 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8677 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8678 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8679 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8680 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8681 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8684 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8687 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8688 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8689 signature when displaying articles.
8693 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8696 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8699 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8700 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8702 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8703 in question is not a signature.
8706 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8707 listed above. Here's an example:
8710 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8711 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8714 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8715 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8716 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8717 signature after all.
8720 @node Article Miscellania
8721 @subsection Article Miscellania
8725 @kindex A t (Summary)
8726 @findex gnus-article-babel
8727 Translate the article from one language to another
8728 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8734 @section MIME Commands
8735 @cindex MIME decoding
8737 @cindex viewing attachments
8739 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8740 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8746 @kindex K v (Summary)
8747 View the @sc{mime} part.
8750 @kindex K o (Summary)
8751 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8754 @kindex K c (Summary)
8755 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8758 @kindex K e (Summary)
8759 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8762 @kindex K i (Summary)
8763 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8766 @kindex K | (Summary)
8767 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8770 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8775 @kindex K b (Summary)
8776 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8777 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8781 @kindex K m (Summary)
8782 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8783 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8784 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8785 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8786 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8789 @kindex X m (Summary)
8790 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8791 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8792 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8793 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8796 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8797 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8798 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8799 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8802 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8803 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8804 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8805 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8808 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8809 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8810 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8811 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8813 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8814 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8815 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8816 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8817 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8818 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8821 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8822 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
8823 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8824 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8831 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8832 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8833 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8834 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8837 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8840 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8844 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8845 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8846 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8847 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8848 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8849 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8852 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8853 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8854 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8855 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8856 displayed. This variable overrides
8857 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8859 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8860 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8861 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8863 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8864 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8865 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8866 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8867 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8868 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8869 save all jpegs into some directory).
8871 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8874 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8875 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8877 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8878 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8879 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8880 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8881 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8884 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8885 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8886 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8888 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8889 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8890 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8891 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8893 Ready-made functions include@*
8894 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8895 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8896 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8897 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8898 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8899 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8900 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8901 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8902 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8903 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8904 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8905 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8907 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8908 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8910 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8911 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8912 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8915 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8916 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8917 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8918 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8922 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8931 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8932 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8933 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8934 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8935 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8936 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8937 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8939 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8940 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8941 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8942 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8944 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8945 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8946 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8947 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8948 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8949 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8950 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8951 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8953 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8954 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8955 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8956 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8957 quoted-printable header encoding.
8959 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8960 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8961 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8965 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8968 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8969 means encode all charsets),
8971 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8972 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8973 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8980 @cindex coding system aliases
8981 @cindex preferred charset
8983 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8985 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8986 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8989 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8990 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8993 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8994 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8996 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8999 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9002 This will almost do the right thing.
9004 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9008 (codepage-setup 1251)
9009 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9013 @node Article Commands
9014 @section Article Commands
9021 @kindex A P (Summary)
9022 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9023 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9024 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9025 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9026 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9027 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9032 @node Summary Sorting
9033 @section Summary Sorting
9034 @cindex summary sorting
9036 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9037 can't really see why you'd want that.
9042 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9043 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9044 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9047 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9048 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9049 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9052 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9053 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9054 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9057 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9058 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9059 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9062 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9063 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9064 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9067 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9068 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9069 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9072 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9073 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9074 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9077 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9078 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9079 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9082 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9083 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9084 Sort using the default sorting method
9085 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9088 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9089 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9090 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9091 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9092 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9096 @node Finding the Parent
9097 @section Finding the Parent
9098 @cindex parent articles
9099 @cindex referring articles
9104 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9105 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9106 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9107 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9108 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9109 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9110 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9111 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9112 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9114 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9115 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9116 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9117 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9118 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9122 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9123 @kindex A R (Summary)
9124 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9125 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9128 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9129 @kindex A T (Summary)
9130 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9131 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9132 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9133 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9134 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9135 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9136 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9138 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9139 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9140 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9141 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9142 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9143 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9146 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9147 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9149 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9150 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9151 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9152 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9153 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9154 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9155 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9158 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9159 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9160 by giving this command a prefix.
9162 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9163 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9164 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9165 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9166 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9167 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9170 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9171 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9172 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9175 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9176 then ask Google if that fails:
9179 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9181 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type google))))
9184 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9185 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9186 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9187 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9188 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9189 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9190 support this at all.
9193 @node Alternative Approaches
9194 @section Alternative Approaches
9196 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9197 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9200 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9201 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9206 @subsection Pick and Read
9207 @cindex pick and read
9209 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9210 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9211 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9212 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9214 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9215 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9216 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9217 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9218 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9219 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9221 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9226 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9227 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9228 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9229 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9230 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9231 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9232 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9233 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9236 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9237 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9238 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9239 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9243 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9244 Unpick the thread or article
9245 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9246 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9247 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9248 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9249 the thread or article at that line.
9253 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9254 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9255 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9256 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9257 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9258 will still be visible when you are reading.
9262 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9263 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9264 which is mapped to the same function
9265 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9267 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9270 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9273 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9274 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9276 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9277 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9278 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9280 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9281 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9282 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9283 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9284 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9285 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9286 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9290 @subsection Binary Groups
9291 @cindex binary groups
9293 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9294 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9295 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9296 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9297 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9298 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9299 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9302 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9303 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9304 command, when you have turned on this mode
9305 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9307 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9308 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9312 @section Tree Display
9315 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9316 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9317 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9318 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9321 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9324 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9325 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9326 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9328 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9329 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9330 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9331 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9332 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9334 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9335 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9336 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9337 default is @code{modeline}.
9339 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9340 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9341 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9342 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9343 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9344 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9345 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9351 The name of the poster.
9353 The @code{From} header.
9355 The number of the article.
9357 The opening bracket.
9359 The closing bracket.
9364 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9366 Variables related to the display are:
9369 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9370 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9371 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9372 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9373 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9374 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9376 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9377 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9378 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9379 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9383 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9384 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9385 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9386 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9387 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9388 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9389 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9390 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9391 other windows displayed next to it.
9393 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9397 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9398 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9401 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9402 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9403 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9404 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9405 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9406 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9407 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9411 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9414 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9424 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9428 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9429 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9431 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9433 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9438 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9439 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9440 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9443 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9444 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9445 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9446 (gnus-add-configuration
9450 (summary 0.75 point)
9455 @xref{Window Layout}.
9458 @node Mail Group Commands
9459 @section Mail Group Commands
9460 @cindex mail group commands
9462 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9463 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9465 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9466 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9471 @kindex B e (Summary)
9472 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9473 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9474 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9475 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9476 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9479 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9480 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9481 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9482 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9483 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9484 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9487 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9488 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9489 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9490 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9491 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9492 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9495 @kindex B m (Summary)
9497 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9498 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9499 Move the article from one mail group to another
9500 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9501 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9504 @kindex B c (Summary)
9506 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9507 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9508 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9509 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9510 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9513 @kindex B B (Summary)
9514 @cindex crosspost mail
9515 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9516 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9517 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9518 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9519 be properly updated.
9522 @kindex B i (Summary)
9523 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9524 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9525 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9526 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9529 @kindex B I (Summary)
9530 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9531 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9532 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9533 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9536 @kindex B r (Summary)
9537 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9538 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9539 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9540 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9541 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9542 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9543 (which is the default).
9547 @kindex B w (Summary)
9549 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9550 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9551 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9552 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9553 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9554 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9555 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9558 @kindex B q (Summary)
9559 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9560 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9561 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9562 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9565 @kindex B t (Summary)
9566 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9567 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9568 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9571 @kindex B p (Summary)
9572 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9573 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9574 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9575 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9576 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9577 article from your news server (or rather, from
9578 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9579 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9580 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9581 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9582 just not have arrived yet.
9585 @kindex K E (Summary)
9586 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9587 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9588 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9589 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9590 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9594 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9595 @cindex moving articles
9596 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9597 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9598 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9599 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9600 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9601 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9602 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9605 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9606 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9607 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9608 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9612 @node Various Summary Stuff
9613 @section Various Summary Stuff
9616 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9617 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9618 * Summary Generation Commands::
9619 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9623 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9624 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9625 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9627 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9628 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9629 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9630 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9631 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9632 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9635 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9636 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9637 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9638 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9639 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9641 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9642 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9643 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9646 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9647 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9648 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9649 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9650 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9651 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9652 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9653 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9654 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9655 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9657 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9658 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9659 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9660 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9661 list of articles to be selected.
9663 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9664 the list in one particular group:
9667 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9668 (if (string= group "some.group")
9669 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9673 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9674 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9675 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9676 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9677 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9678 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9679 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9680 buffers. For example:
9683 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9684 '(message-use-followup-to
9685 (gnus-visible-headers .
9686 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9692 @node Summary Group Information
9693 @subsection Summary Group Information
9698 @kindex H f (Summary)
9699 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9700 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9701 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9702 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9703 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9704 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9705 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9706 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9707 be used for fetching the file.
9710 @kindex H d (Summary)
9711 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9712 Give a brief description of the current group
9713 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9714 rereading the description from the server.
9717 @kindex H h (Summary)
9718 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9719 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9720 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9723 @kindex H i (Summary)
9724 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9725 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9729 @node Searching for Articles
9730 @subsection Searching for Articles
9735 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9736 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9737 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9738 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9741 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9742 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9743 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9744 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9748 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9749 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9750 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9751 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9752 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9753 search backward instead.
9755 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9756 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9759 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9760 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9761 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9762 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9765 @node Summary Generation Commands
9766 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9771 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9772 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9773 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9776 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9777 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9778 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9779 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9784 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9785 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9791 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9792 @kindex A D (Summary)
9793 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9794 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9795 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9796 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9797 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9798 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9799 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9800 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9804 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9805 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9806 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9807 several documents into one biiig group
9808 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9809 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9810 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9811 command understands the process/prefix convention
9812 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9815 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9816 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9817 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9818 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9819 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9820 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9824 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9825 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9826 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9829 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
9830 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9831 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9832 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9835 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
9836 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9837 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9838 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9843 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9844 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9845 @cindex summary exit
9846 @cindex exiting groups
9848 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9849 group and return you to the group buffer.
9855 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9857 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9858 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9859 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9860 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9861 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9862 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9863 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9864 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9865 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9866 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9867 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9871 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9873 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9874 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9875 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9879 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9881 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9882 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9883 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9884 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9887 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9888 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9889 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9890 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9893 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9894 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9895 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9896 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9899 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9900 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9901 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9902 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9903 all articles, both read and unread.
9907 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9908 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9909 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9910 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9911 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9912 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9913 articles, both read and unread.
9916 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9917 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9918 Exit the group and go to the next group
9919 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9922 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9923 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9924 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9925 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9928 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9929 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9930 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9931 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9932 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9933 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9936 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9937 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9938 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9939 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9941 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9942 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9943 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9944 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9945 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9946 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9947 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9948 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9949 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9950 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9951 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9952 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9954 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9956 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9957 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9958 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9959 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9960 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9961 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9962 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9963 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9964 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9967 @node Crosspost Handling
9968 @section Crosspost Handling
9972 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
9973 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
9974 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
9975 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
9976 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
9977 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
9980 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
9981 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
9982 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
9983 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
9984 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
9986 @cindex cross-posting
9989 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
9990 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
9991 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
9992 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
9993 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
9994 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
9995 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
9996 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
9997 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
9998 the cross reference mechanism.
10000 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10001 @cindex overview.fmt
10002 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10003 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10004 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10005 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10006 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10007 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10010 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10011 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10012 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10017 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10020 @node Duplicate Suppression
10021 @section Duplicate Suppression
10023 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10024 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10025 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10026 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10031 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10032 is evil and not very common.
10035 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10036 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10039 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10040 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10043 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10046 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10047 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10049 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10050 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10051 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10052 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10053 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10054 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10055 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10058 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10059 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10060 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10061 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10062 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10063 saw the article in.
10066 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10067 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10068 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10070 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10071 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10072 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10073 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10074 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10075 session are suppressed.
10077 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10078 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10079 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10080 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10082 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10083 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10084 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10085 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10088 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10089 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10090 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10091 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10092 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10093 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10094 to you to figure out, I think.
10099 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10100 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10101 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10105 To handle PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or gpg.el as
10106 well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG).
10109 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10110 or newer is recommended.
10114 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10115 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10118 @item mm-verify-option
10119 @vindex mm-verify-option
10120 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10121 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10122 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10124 @item mm-decrypt-option
10125 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10126 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10127 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10128 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10133 @section Mailing List
10135 @kindex A M (summary)
10136 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10137 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10138 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10139 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10140 summary buffer, or say:
10143 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
10146 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10151 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10152 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10153 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10156 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10157 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10158 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10161 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10162 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10163 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10167 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10168 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10169 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10172 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10173 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10174 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10177 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10178 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10179 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10183 @node Article Buffer
10184 @chapter Article Buffer
10185 @cindex article buffer
10187 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10188 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10189 tell Gnus otherwise.
10192 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10193 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10194 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10195 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10196 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10200 @node Hiding Headers
10201 @section Hiding Headers
10202 @cindex hiding headers
10203 @cindex deleting headers
10205 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10206 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10208 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10209 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10210 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10211 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10212 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10213 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10214 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10215 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10216 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10218 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10222 @item gnus-visible-headers
10223 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10224 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10225 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10226 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10228 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10229 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10232 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10235 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10238 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10239 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10240 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10241 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10242 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10243 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10245 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10246 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10249 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10252 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10255 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10256 variable will have no effect.
10260 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10261 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10262 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10263 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10264 the headers are to be displayed.
10266 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10267 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10270 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10273 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10274 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10276 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10277 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10278 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10279 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10280 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10281 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10282 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10285 These conditions are:
10288 Remove all empty headers.
10290 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10291 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10293 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10294 @code{From} header.
10296 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10299 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10300 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10302 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10305 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10307 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10310 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10313 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10314 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10317 This is also the default value for this variable.
10321 @section Using MIME
10324 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10325 while people stand around yawning.
10327 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10328 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10330 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10331 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10332 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10334 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10335 @findex gnus-display-mime
10336 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10337 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10338 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10339 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
10341 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10345 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10346 @item RET (Article)
10347 @kindex RET (Article)
10348 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10349 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
10350 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If builtin viewers can not display
10351 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
10352 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
10353 object is displayed inline.
10355 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10356 @item M-RET (Article)
10357 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10359 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10360 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10362 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10364 @kindex t (Article)
10365 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
10366 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10368 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10370 @kindex C (Article)
10371 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10372 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10374 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10376 @kindex o (Article)
10377 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
10378 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10380 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10381 @item C-o (Article)
10382 @kindex C-o (Article)
10383 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
10384 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10385 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10386 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
10387 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
10388 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10390 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10392 @kindex c (Article)
10393 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10394 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
10396 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10398 @kindex p (Article)
10399 Print the @sc{mime} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10400 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10401 @file{.mailcap} file.
10403 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10405 @kindex i (Article)
10406 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
10407 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10408 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10409 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10410 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10413 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
10415 @kindex E (Article)
10416 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10417 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10418 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
10420 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
10422 @kindex e (Article)
10423 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
10424 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
10426 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10428 @kindex | (Article)
10429 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10431 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10433 @kindex . (Article)
10434 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
10435 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10439 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10440 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
10443 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10444 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10445 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
10446 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10447 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10448 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10449 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10450 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10451 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10453 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10455 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10458 @node Customizing Articles
10459 @section Customizing Articles
10460 @cindex article customization
10462 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10463 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10464 called automatically when you select the articles.
10466 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10467 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10468 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10469 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10471 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10472 for sensible values.
10476 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10479 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10482 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10485 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10488 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10492 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10493 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10494 regexps in the list.
10497 A list where the first element is not a string:
10499 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10500 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10501 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10505 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10510 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10511 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10512 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10513 considered to contain just a single part.
10515 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10516 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10517 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10518 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10519 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10520 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10521 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10523 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10524 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10525 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10526 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10529 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10530 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10532 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10534 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10535 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10536 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10537 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10538 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10539 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10540 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10541 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10542 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10543 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10545 @xref{Article Washing}.
10547 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10548 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10549 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10550 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10551 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10552 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10553 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10555 @xref{Article Date}.
10557 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10558 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10559 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10563 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10565 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10567 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10568 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10569 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10573 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10577 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10578 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10579 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10580 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10581 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10582 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10583 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10584 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10586 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10588 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10589 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10590 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10592 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10594 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10595 @item gnus-treat-translate
10596 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10598 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10599 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10600 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10601 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10603 @xref{Article Header}.
10608 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10609 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10610 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10611 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10612 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10616 @node Article Keymap
10617 @section Article Keymap
10619 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10620 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10621 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10622 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10625 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10630 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10631 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10632 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10635 @kindex DEL (Article)
10636 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10637 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10640 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10641 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10642 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10643 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10644 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10647 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10648 @findex gnus-article-mail
10649 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10650 given a prefix, include the mail.
10653 @kindex s (Article)
10654 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10655 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10656 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10659 @kindex ? (Article)
10660 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10661 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10662 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10665 @kindex TAB (Article)
10666 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10667 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10668 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10671 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10672 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10673 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10676 @kindex R (Article)
10677 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10678 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10679 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10680 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10684 @kindex F (Article)
10685 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10686 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10687 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10688 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10696 @section Misc Article
10700 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10701 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10702 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10703 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10706 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10707 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10709 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10710 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10712 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10713 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10714 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10715 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10716 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10717 the contents of the article buffer.
10719 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10720 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10721 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10723 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10724 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10725 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10726 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10728 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10729 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10730 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10731 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10732 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10738 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10739 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10740 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10745 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10748 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10751 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10752 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10753 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10756 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10759 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10762 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10767 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10771 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10773 @item gnus-break-pages
10774 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10775 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10776 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10777 paging will not be done.
10779 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10780 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10781 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10786 @node Composing Messages
10787 @chapter Composing Messages
10788 @cindex composing messages
10791 @cindex sending mail
10796 @cindex using s/mime
10797 @cindex using smime
10799 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10800 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10801 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10802 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
10803 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10804 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10807 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10808 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
10809 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10810 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10811 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10812 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10813 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10814 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
10817 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10818 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10824 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10827 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10828 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10829 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10830 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10832 @item gnus-add-to-list
10833 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10834 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10835 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10837 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10838 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10839 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus requests confirmation when replying to news.
10840 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
10841 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
10846 @node Posting Server
10847 @section Posting Server
10849 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10850 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10852 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10854 It can be quite complicated.
10856 @vindex gnus-post-method
10857 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
10858 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
10859 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
10860 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
10861 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
10862 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
10863 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
10864 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
10865 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10868 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10871 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10872 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10873 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10874 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10876 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10877 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10879 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10880 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10883 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10884 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
10886 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
10887 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
10888 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
10889 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
10890 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
10891 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
10892 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
10893 package correctly. An example:
10896 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
10897 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
10900 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
10901 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
10902 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
10904 Other possible choises for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
10905 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
10906 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
10908 @node Mail and Post
10909 @section Mail and Post
10911 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10915 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10916 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10917 @cindex mailing lists
10919 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10920 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10921 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10922 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10923 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10924 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10925 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10926 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10927 still a pain, though.
10931 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10932 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10933 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10936 @findex ispell-message
10938 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10941 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10942 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10945 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10949 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10950 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10952 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10955 Modify to suit your needs.
10958 @node Archived Messages
10959 @section Archived Messages
10960 @cindex archived messages
10961 @cindex sent messages
10963 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10964 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10965 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10966 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10969 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
10970 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
10973 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
10974 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
10975 use to store sent messages. The default is:
10978 (nnfolder "archive"
10979 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
10980 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
10981 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
10982 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
10985 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
10986 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
10987 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
10988 directory chosen, you could say something like:
10991 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
10992 '(nnfolder "archive"
10993 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
10994 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
10995 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
10998 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11000 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11001 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11002 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11004 This variable can be used to do the following:
11009 Messages will be saved in that group.
11011 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11012 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11013 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11014 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11015 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11016 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11017 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11018 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11022 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11024 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11025 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11028 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11033 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11035 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11038 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11040 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11043 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11045 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11046 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11047 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11048 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11051 More complex stuff:
11053 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11054 '((if (message-news-p)
11059 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11060 messages in one file per month:
11063 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11064 '((if (message-news-p)
11066 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11069 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11070 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11072 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11073 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11074 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11075 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11076 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11077 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11078 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11079 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11080 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11081 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11083 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11084 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11085 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11086 this will disable archiving.
11089 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11090 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11091 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11092 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11093 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11096 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11097 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11098 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11101 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11102 but the latter is the preferred method.
11104 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11105 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11106 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11108 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11109 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11110 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11111 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11112 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11113 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11114 changed in the future.
11119 @node Posting Styles
11120 @section Posting Styles
11121 @cindex posting styles
11124 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11126 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11127 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11128 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11131 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11132 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11133 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11134 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11135 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11140 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11141 (organization "What me?"))
11143 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11144 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11145 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11148 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11149 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11150 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11151 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11152 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11153 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11154 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11155 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11157 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11158 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11159 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11160 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11161 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. If it's a function symbol, that
11162 function will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol,
11163 then the variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list
11164 will be @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil}
11165 value, then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
11167 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11168 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11169 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11170 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11171 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11172 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11173 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11174 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11175 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11176 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11179 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11180 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11181 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11182 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11183 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11184 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11185 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11186 references chars lines xref extra.
11188 @vindex message-reply-headers
11190 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11191 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11192 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11194 @findex message-mail-p
11195 @findex message-news-p
11197 So here's a new example:
11200 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11202 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11204 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11205 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11207 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11208 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11209 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11210 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11211 (signature my-news-signature))
11212 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11213 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11214 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11215 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11216 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11217 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11218 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11219 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11220 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11221 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11223 (From (save-excursion
11224 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11225 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11227 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11230 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11231 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11232 if you fill many roles.
11239 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11240 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11241 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11242 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11243 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11245 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11246 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11247 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11248 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11249 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11253 @vindex nndraft-directory
11254 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11255 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11256 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11257 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11258 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11259 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11261 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11262 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11265 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11266 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11267 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11268 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11269 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11270 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11271 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11272 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11273 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11274 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11275 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11276 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11277 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11278 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11280 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11281 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11282 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11284 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11285 @kindex D e (Draft)
11286 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11287 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11288 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11290 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11293 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11294 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11295 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11296 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11297 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11298 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11299 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11302 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11303 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11304 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11307 @node Rejected Articles
11308 @section Rejected Articles
11309 @cindex rejected articles
11311 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11312 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11313 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11314 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11316 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
11317 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11318 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11319 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
11320 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11322 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11323 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11324 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11326 @node Signing and encrypting
11327 @section Signing and encrypting
11329 @cindex using s/mime
11330 @cindex using smime
11332 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11333 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11334 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11335 (@pxref{Security}).
11337 For PGP, Gnus supports two external libraries, @sc{gpg.el} and
11338 @sc{Mailcrypt}, you need to install at least one of them. The
11339 @sc{s/mime} support in Gnus requires the external program OpenSSL.
11341 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11342 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11343 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11344 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11345 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11346 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11347 automatically encrypted messages.
11349 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11350 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11351 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11356 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11357 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11359 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11362 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11363 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11365 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11368 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11369 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11371 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11374 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11375 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11377 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11380 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11381 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11383 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11386 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11387 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11389 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11392 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11393 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11394 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11398 Also @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}.
11400 @node Select Methods
11401 @chapter Select Methods
11402 @cindex foreign groups
11403 @cindex select methods
11405 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11406 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11407 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11408 personal mail group.
11410 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11411 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11412 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11413 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11414 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11415 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11417 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11418 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11420 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11423 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11424 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11425 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11426 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11427 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11429 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11432 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11433 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11434 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11435 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11436 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11437 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11438 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11439 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11443 @node Server Buffer
11444 @section Server Buffer
11446 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11447 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11448 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11449 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11450 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11451 back end represents a virtual server.
11453 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11454 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11455 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11456 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11458 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11459 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11460 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11461 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11462 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11463 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11464 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11466 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11467 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11470 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11471 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11472 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11473 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11474 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11475 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11476 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11479 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11480 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11483 @node Server Buffer Format
11484 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11485 @cindex server buffer format
11487 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11488 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11489 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11490 variable, with some simple extensions:
11495 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11498 The name of this server.
11501 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11504 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11507 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11508 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11509 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11510 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11520 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11523 @node Server Commands
11524 @subsection Server Commands
11525 @cindex server commands
11531 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11532 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11536 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11537 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11540 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11541 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11542 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11546 @findex gnus-server-exit
11547 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11551 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11552 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11556 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11557 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11561 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11562 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11566 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11567 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11571 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11572 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11573 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11578 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11579 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11580 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11581 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11586 @node Example Methods
11587 @subsection Example Methods
11589 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11592 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11595 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11601 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11602 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11605 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11606 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11608 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11609 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11613 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11616 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11617 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11619 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11620 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11621 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11625 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11628 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11631 Here's the method for a public spool:
11635 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11636 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11642 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11643 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11644 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11645 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11646 should probably look something like this:
11650 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11651 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11652 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11653 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11656 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11657 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11658 configuration to the example above:
11661 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11664 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11666 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11667 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11668 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11672 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11673 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11674 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11675 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11678 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11679 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11680 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11681 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11684 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11685 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11687 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11688 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11690 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11691 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11692 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11694 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11696 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11697 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11698 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11699 will contain the following:
11709 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11710 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11711 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11714 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11715 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11716 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11719 @node Server Variables
11720 @subsection Server Variables
11722 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11723 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11724 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11725 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11726 won't change the "derived" variables.
11728 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11729 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11730 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11731 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11732 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11733 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11734 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11735 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11736 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11740 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11741 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11742 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11746 @node Servers and Methods
11747 @subsection Servers and Methods
11749 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11750 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11751 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11752 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11756 @node Unavailable Servers
11757 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11759 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11760 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11761 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11762 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11763 actually the case or not.
11765 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11766 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11767 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11768 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11769 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11770 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11771 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11772 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11774 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11775 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11777 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11778 with the following commands:
11784 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11785 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11786 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11790 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11791 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11792 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11796 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11797 Mark the current server as unreachable
11798 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11801 @kindex M-o (Server)
11802 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11803 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11804 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11807 @kindex M-c (Server)
11808 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11809 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11810 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11814 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11815 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11816 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11820 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
11821 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
11827 @section Getting News
11828 @cindex reading news
11829 @cindex news back ends
11831 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11832 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11833 or it can read from a local spool.
11836 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11837 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11845 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11846 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11847 server as the, uhm, address.
11849 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11850 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11851 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11852 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11854 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11855 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11856 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11858 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11863 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11864 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11865 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11867 @cindex authentification
11868 @cindex nntp authentification
11869 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11870 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11871 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11872 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11873 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11874 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11875 present in this hook.
11877 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11878 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11879 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11880 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11881 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11882 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11883 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11884 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11885 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11886 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11887 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11888 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11892 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11895 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11897 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11898 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11899 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11900 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11901 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11902 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11903 @samp{force} is explained below.
11907 Here's an example file:
11910 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11911 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11914 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11915 have to be first, for instance.
11917 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11918 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11919 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11920 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11921 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11922 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11923 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11925 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11926 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11932 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11933 previously mentioned.
11935 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11937 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11938 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11939 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11940 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11941 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11944 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11945 '(("innd" (ding))))
11948 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11950 The default value is
11953 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
11954 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
11955 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
11958 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
11959 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
11961 @item nntp-maximum-request
11962 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
11963 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
11964 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
11965 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
11966 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
11967 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
11968 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
11970 @item nntp-connection-timeout
11971 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
11972 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
11973 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
11974 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
11975 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
11976 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
11977 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
11978 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
11979 no timeouts are done.
11981 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
11982 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
11983 @c @cindex PPP connections
11984 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
11985 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
11986 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
11987 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
11988 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
11989 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
11990 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
11991 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
11992 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
11993 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
11995 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
11996 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
11997 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
11998 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
11999 @c described above.
12001 @item nntp-server-hook
12002 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12003 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12006 @item nntp-buggy-select
12007 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12008 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12010 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12011 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12012 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12013 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12016 @item nntp-xover-commands
12017 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12020 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12021 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12025 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12026 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12027 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12028 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12029 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12030 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12031 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12032 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12033 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12034 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12035 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12037 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12038 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12039 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12041 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12042 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12043 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12044 server closes connection.
12046 @item nntp-record-commands
12047 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12048 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12049 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12050 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12051 that doesn't seem to work.
12053 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12054 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12055 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12056 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12057 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12058 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12059 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12060 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12062 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12063 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12064 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12065 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12066 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12067 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12068 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12071 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12074 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12075 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12079 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12080 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12081 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12085 @node Direct Functions
12086 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12087 @cindex direct connection functions
12089 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12090 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12091 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12092 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12095 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12096 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12097 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12100 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12101 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12102 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12103 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12104 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12105 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12106 define a server as follows:
12109 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12111 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12112 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12114 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12115 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12116 (nntp-port-number 563)
12117 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12120 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12121 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12122 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12123 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12124 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12125 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12126 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12127 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12131 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12132 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12133 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12136 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12137 session, which is not a good idea.
12141 @node Indirect Functions
12142 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12143 @cindex indirect connection functions
12145 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12146 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12147 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12148 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12149 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12150 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12153 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12154 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12155 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12156 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12157 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12159 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12162 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12163 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12164 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12165 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12167 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12168 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12169 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12170 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12171 @samp{ssh} for `nntp-via-rlogin-command', you may set this to
12172 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12173 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12174 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12177 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12178 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12179 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12180 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12182 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12185 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12186 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12187 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12190 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12191 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12192 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12193 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12195 @item nntp-via-user-password
12196 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12197 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12199 @item nntp-via-envuser
12200 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12201 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12202 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12203 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12205 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12206 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12207 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12208 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12215 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12220 @item nntp-via-user-name
12221 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12222 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12224 @item nntp-via-address
12225 @vindex nntp-via-address
12226 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12231 @node Common Variables
12232 @subsubsection Common Variables
12234 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12235 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12240 @item nntp-pre-command
12241 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12242 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12243 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12244 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12245 wrapper for instance.
12248 @vindex nntp-address
12249 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12251 @item nntp-port-number
12252 @vindex nntp-port-number
12253 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12254 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12255 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12256 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12258 @item nntp-end-of-line
12259 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12260 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12261 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12262 using a non native connection function.
12264 @item nntp-telnet-command
12265 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12266 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12267 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12268 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12270 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12271 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12272 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12279 @subsection News Spool
12283 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12284 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12285 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12288 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12289 anything else) as the address.
12291 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12292 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12293 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12294 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12298 @item nnspool-inews-program
12299 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12300 Program used to post an article.
12302 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12303 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12304 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12306 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12307 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12308 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12309 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12311 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12312 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12313 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12314 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12316 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12317 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12318 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12320 @item nnspool-active-file
12321 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12322 The path to the active file.
12324 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12325 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12326 The path to the group descriptions file.
12328 @item nnspool-history-file
12329 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12330 The path to the news history file.
12332 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12333 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12334 The path to the active date file.
12336 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12337 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12338 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12341 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12342 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12344 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12345 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12346 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12352 @section Getting Mail
12353 @cindex reading mail
12356 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12360 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12361 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12362 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12363 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12364 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12365 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12366 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12367 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12368 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12369 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12370 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12371 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12372 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12376 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12377 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12379 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12380 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12381 of a culture shock.
12383 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12384 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12386 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12387 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12388 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12389 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12391 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12393 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12394 deleted? How awful!
12396 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12397 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12398 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12399 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12402 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12403 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12404 they want to treat a message.
12406 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12407 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12408 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12409 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12410 archived somewhere else.
12412 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12413 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12414 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12415 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12416 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12418 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12419 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12420 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12422 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12423 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12426 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12427 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12428 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12429 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12430 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12432 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12433 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12434 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12435 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12436 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12437 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12441 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12442 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12444 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12445 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12446 and things will happen automatically.
12448 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12449 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
12452 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12455 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12456 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12457 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12458 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12459 like any other group.
12461 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12464 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12465 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12466 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12470 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12471 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12472 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12475 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12476 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12477 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12480 @node Splitting Mail
12481 @subsection Splitting Mail
12482 @cindex splitting mail
12483 @cindex mail splitting
12485 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12486 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12487 to be split into groups.
12490 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12491 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12492 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12493 ("mail.other" "")))
12496 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12497 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12498 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12499 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12500 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12501 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12502 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12505 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12508 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12509 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12510 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12511 mail belongs in that group.
12513 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12514 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12515 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12516 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12517 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12518 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12520 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12521 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12522 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12523 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12524 thinks should carry this mail message.
12526 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12527 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12528 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12529 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12531 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12532 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12533 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12534 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12535 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12537 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12540 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12541 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12542 links. If that's the case for you, set
12543 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12544 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12546 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12547 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12548 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12549 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12550 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12551 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12554 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12555 Header lines longer than the value of
12556 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12559 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12560 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12561 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12562 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12563 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12564 can be turned off completely by binding
12565 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12566 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12568 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12569 By default, splitting is not performed on all incoming messages. If
12570 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12571 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12572 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12573 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12574 happen even in this case.
12576 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12577 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12578 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12579 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12580 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12581 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12582 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12583 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12584 month's rent money.
12588 @subsection Mail Sources
12590 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12591 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12595 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12596 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12597 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12601 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12602 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12604 @cindex mail server
12607 @cindex mail source
12609 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12610 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12615 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12618 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12619 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12620 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12623 The following mail source types are available:
12627 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12633 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12634 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12635 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12638 An example file mail source:
12641 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12644 Or using the default path:
12650 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12651 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12652 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12655 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12659 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12662 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12666 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12669 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12671 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12674 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12678 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12679 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
12680 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
12681 That is, mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in the
12682 group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12683 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12684 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus
12685 to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you
12686 want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12688 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12689 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12690 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12691 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
12697 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12701 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12705 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12706 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12707 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12708 predicate are considered.
12712 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12716 An example directory mail source:
12719 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12724 Get mail from a POP server.
12730 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12731 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12734 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12735 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12736 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12737 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12738 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12741 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12745 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12749 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12750 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12753 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12756 The valid format specifier characters are:
12760 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12761 included in this string.
12764 The name of the server.
12767 The port number of the server.
12770 The user name to use.
12773 The password to use.
12776 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12777 corresponding keywords.
12780 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12781 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12784 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12785 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12788 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12789 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12792 @item :authentication
12793 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12794 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12799 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12800 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12802 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12803 default user name, and default fetcher:
12809 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12812 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12813 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12816 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12819 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12823 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12824 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12825 contains exactly one mail.
12831 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12832 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12835 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12836 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12838 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12839 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12840 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12843 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12844 from locking problems).
12848 Two example maildir mail sources:
12851 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12852 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12856 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12861 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12862 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12863 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12864 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12867 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
12868 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
12874 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12875 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12878 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12879 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
12882 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12886 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12890 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12891 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12892 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12893 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12895 @item :authentication
12896 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12897 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12898 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12899 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12902 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12903 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12904 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12910 The valid format specifier characters are:
12914 The name of the server.
12917 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12920 The port number of the server.
12923 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12924 corresponding keywords.
12927 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12928 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12931 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12932 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12933 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12934 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
12935 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12936 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
12939 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12940 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12941 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12942 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
12945 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
12946 after finishing the fetch.
12950 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
12953 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
12955 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
12959 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
12960 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
12961 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
12963 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
12964 required for url "4.0pre.46".
12966 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
12972 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
12973 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
12976 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
12980 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
12984 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
12985 folder after finishing the fetch.
12989 An example webmail source:
12992 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
12994 :password "secret")
12999 @item Common Keywords
13000 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13006 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13007 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13011 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13016 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13017 useful when you use local mail and news.
13022 @subsubsection Function Interface
13024 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13025 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13026 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13027 consider the following mail-source setting:
13030 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13031 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13034 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13035 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13036 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13037 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13038 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13040 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13043 @node Mail Source Customization
13044 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13046 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13047 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13051 @item mail-source-crash-box
13052 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13053 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13054 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13056 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13057 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13058 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13060 @item mail-source-directory
13061 @vindex mail-source-directory
13062 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13063 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13064 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13067 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13068 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13069 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13070 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13071 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13072 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13074 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13075 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13076 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13078 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13079 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13080 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13081 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13086 @node Fetching Mail
13087 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13089 @vindex mail-sources
13090 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13091 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13092 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13093 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13095 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13096 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13099 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13100 mail server, you'd say something like:
13105 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13106 :password "secret")))
13109 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13113 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13114 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13117 :password "secret")))
13121 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13122 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13123 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13124 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13125 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13126 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13130 @node Mail Back End Variables
13131 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13133 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13137 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13138 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13139 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13140 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13142 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13143 @item nnmail-split-hook
13144 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
13145 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13146 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13147 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13148 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13149 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13150 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13151 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13152 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13155 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13156 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13157 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13158 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13159 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13160 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13161 starting to handle the new mail) and
13162 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13163 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13164 default file modes the new mail files get:
13167 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13168 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13170 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13171 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13174 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13175 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13176 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13177 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13178 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13179 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13180 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13182 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13183 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13184 @findex delete-file
13185 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13187 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13188 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13189 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13190 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13191 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13193 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13194 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13195 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13196 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13197 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13199 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13200 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13201 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13206 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13207 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13208 @cindex mail splitting
13209 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13211 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13212 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13213 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13214 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13215 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13216 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13218 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13221 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13222 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13223 ;; from real errors.
13224 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13226 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13227 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13228 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13229 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13230 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13231 ;; Other mailing lists...
13232 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13233 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13234 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13235 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13236 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13237 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13238 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13239 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13241 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13242 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13246 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13247 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13248 the five possible split syntaxes:
13253 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13254 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13258 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13259 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13260 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13261 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13262 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13263 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13264 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13265 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13268 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13269 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13270 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13271 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13274 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13275 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13278 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13279 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13282 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13283 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13284 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13285 function should return a @var{split}.
13288 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13289 body of the messages:
13292 (defun split-on-body ()
13294 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13295 (goto-char (point-min))
13296 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13300 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13301 when the @code{:} function is run.
13304 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13305 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13306 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13310 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13314 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13315 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13316 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13317 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13318 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13320 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13321 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13322 are expanded as specified by the variable
13323 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13324 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13327 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13328 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13329 when all this splitting is performed.
13331 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13332 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13333 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13336 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13339 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13340 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13342 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13343 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13344 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13345 groupings 1 through 9.
13347 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13348 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13349 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13350 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13351 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13352 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13353 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13354 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13355 it once per thread.
13357 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13358 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13359 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13362 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13363 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13365 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13366 ;; other splits go here
13370 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13371 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13372 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13373 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13374 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13375 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13376 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13377 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13378 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13379 unless the group name matches the regexp
13380 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13381 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13382 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13383 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13384 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13385 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13386 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13387 messages goes into the new group.
13389 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13390 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13391 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13392 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13393 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13397 @node Group Mail Splitting
13398 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13399 @cindex mail splitting
13400 @cindex group mail splitting
13402 @findex gnus-group-split
13403 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13404 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13405 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13406 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13407 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13408 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13409 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13410 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13412 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13413 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13414 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13415 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13417 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13418 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13419 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13420 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13421 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13422 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13423 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13425 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13426 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13427 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13428 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13429 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13430 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13431 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13433 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13434 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13435 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13436 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13437 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13438 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13439 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13440 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13441 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13442 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13443 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13444 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13445 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13447 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13452 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13453 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13455 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13456 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13457 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13458 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13460 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13463 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13464 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13465 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13468 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13469 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13470 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13474 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13475 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13476 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13480 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13483 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13484 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13485 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13486 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13487 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13488 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13489 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13490 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13491 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13493 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13494 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13495 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13496 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13497 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13498 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13499 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13500 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13501 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13503 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13504 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13505 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13506 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13507 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13508 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
13511 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13514 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13515 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13516 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13517 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13518 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13521 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13522 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13523 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13524 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13526 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13527 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13528 @cindex incorporating old mail
13529 @cindex import old mail
13531 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13532 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13533 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13536 Doing so can be quite easy.
13538 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13539 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13540 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13541 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13542 your @code{nnml} groups.
13548 Go to the group buffer.
13551 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13552 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13555 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
13558 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13559 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13562 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13563 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13566 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13567 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13568 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13569 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13570 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13572 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13573 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13574 using the new mail back end.
13577 @node Expiring Mail
13578 @subsection Expiring Mail
13579 @cindex article expiry
13581 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13582 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13583 different approach to mail reading.
13585 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13586 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13587 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13588 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13589 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13590 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13593 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13594 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
13595 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13596 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13597 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13598 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13599 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13600 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13602 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13603 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
13604 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
13605 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
13606 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
13607 column in the summary buffer.
13609 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13610 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13611 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13612 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13615 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13617 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13618 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13619 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13622 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13623 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13624 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13625 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13626 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13628 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13629 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13632 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13633 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13636 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13637 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13639 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13640 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13641 don't really mix very well.
13643 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13644 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13645 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13646 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13649 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13650 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13651 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13652 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13655 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13657 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13659 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13661 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13663 ((string= group "important")
13669 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13670 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13672 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13673 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13674 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13677 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13678 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13680 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13681 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13682 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13683 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13684 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13685 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13686 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13687 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13688 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13689 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13690 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13691 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13692 name or @code{delete}.
13694 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13696 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13699 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13700 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13701 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13702 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13703 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13706 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13707 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13708 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13709 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13710 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13713 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13714 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13715 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13716 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13717 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13718 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13720 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13721 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13722 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13723 easier for procmail users.
13725 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13726 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13727 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13728 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13729 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13730 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13731 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13732 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13733 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13734 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13735 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13736 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13737 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13740 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13742 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
13743 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
13744 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
13745 auto-expire turned on.
13749 @subsection Washing Mail
13750 @cindex mail washing
13751 @cindex list server brain damage
13752 @cindex incoming mail treatment
13754 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
13755 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
13756 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
13757 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
13758 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
13759 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
13761 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
13762 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
13763 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
13766 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
13767 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
13768 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
13769 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
13772 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13773 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13774 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
13775 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
13776 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
13779 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13780 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13781 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
13782 Emacs running on MS machines.
13786 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13787 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13788 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
13789 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
13792 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13793 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13794 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
13795 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
13797 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
13798 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
13799 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
13800 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
13801 into a feature by documenting it.)
13803 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13804 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13805 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
13806 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
13807 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
13808 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
13809 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
13812 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
13813 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
13816 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
13817 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
13820 This can also be done non-destructively with
13821 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
13823 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
13824 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
13825 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
13827 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13828 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13830 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
13831 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
13832 @code{References} headers.
13836 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13837 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13838 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
13842 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
13843 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
13844 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
13851 @subsection Duplicates
13853 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
13854 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
13855 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13856 @cindex duplicate mails
13857 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
13858 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
13859 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
13860 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
13861 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
13862 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
13863 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
13864 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
13865 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
13866 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
13867 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
13868 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
13869 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
13871 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13872 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13873 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13874 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13876 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13879 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13880 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13884 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13885 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13886 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13887 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13888 (any mail "mail.misc")
13895 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13896 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13901 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13902 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13903 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13904 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13905 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13908 @node Not Reading Mail
13909 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13911 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13912 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13913 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13915 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13916 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13917 mail, which should help.
13919 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13920 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13921 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13922 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13923 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13924 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
13925 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
13926 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
13927 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
13928 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
13929 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
13931 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
13932 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
13936 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
13937 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
13939 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
13940 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
13941 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
13943 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
13944 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
13945 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
13946 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
13947 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
13948 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
13949 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
13952 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
13953 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
13954 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
13955 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
13956 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
13957 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
13961 @node Unix Mail Box
13962 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
13964 @cindex unix mail box
13966 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13967 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13968 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
13969 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
13970 which group it belongs in.
13972 Virtual server settings:
13975 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
13976 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13977 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
13980 @item nnmbox-active-file
13981 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13982 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
13983 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
13985 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
13986 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13987 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
13988 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
13993 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
13997 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13998 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13999 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14000 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14001 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14003 Virtual server settings:
14006 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14007 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14008 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14010 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14011 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14012 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14013 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14015 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14016 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14017 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14023 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14025 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14027 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14028 format. It should be used with some caution.
14030 @vindex nnml-directory
14031 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14032 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14033 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14034 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14036 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14039 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14040 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14041 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14042 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14043 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14044 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14045 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14046 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14048 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14049 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14050 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14051 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14053 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14055 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14056 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14057 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14058 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14059 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14060 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14061 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14062 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14065 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14066 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14067 them next time it starts.
14069 Virtual server settings:
14072 @item nnml-directory
14073 @vindex nnml-directory
14074 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
14075 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
14078 @item nnml-active-file
14079 @vindex nnml-active-file
14080 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14081 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
14083 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14084 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14085 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14086 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
14088 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14089 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14090 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14093 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14094 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14095 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14096 default is @code{nil}.
14098 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14099 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14100 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14102 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14103 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14104 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14106 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14107 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14108 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14109 default is @code{nil}.
14111 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14112 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14113 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14115 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14116 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14117 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14122 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14123 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14124 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14125 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14126 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14127 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14128 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14133 @subsubsection MH Spool
14135 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14137 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14138 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14139 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14140 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14142 Virtual server settings:
14145 @item nnmh-directory
14146 @vindex nnmh-directory
14147 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14148 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14151 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14152 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14153 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14157 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14158 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14159 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14160 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14161 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14162 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14163 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14168 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14170 @cindex mbox folders
14171 @cindex mail folders
14173 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14174 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14175 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14178 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14180 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14181 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14182 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14183 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14184 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14185 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14186 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14187 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14188 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14189 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14191 Virtual server settings:
14194 @item nnfolder-directory
14195 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14196 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14197 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14200 @item nnfolder-active-file
14201 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14202 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14204 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14205 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14206 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14207 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14209 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14210 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14211 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14214 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14215 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14216 @cindex backup files
14217 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14218 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14219 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14220 your @file{.emacs} file:
14223 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14224 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14226 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14229 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14230 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14231 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14232 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14233 extract some information from it before removing it.
14235 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14236 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14237 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14238 default is @code{nil}.
14240 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14241 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14242 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14244 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14245 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14246 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14247 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14249 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14250 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14251 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14252 default is @code{nil}.
14254 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14255 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14256 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14258 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14259 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14260 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14261 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14266 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14267 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14268 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14269 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14270 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14271 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14274 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14275 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14277 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14278 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14279 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14280 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14281 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14283 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14284 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14285 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14286 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14287 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14288 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14289 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14290 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14293 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14294 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14295 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14296 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14301 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14302 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14303 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14304 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14305 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14306 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14307 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14308 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14309 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14310 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14311 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14312 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14313 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14318 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14319 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14320 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14321 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14322 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14323 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14324 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14325 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14326 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14327 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14328 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14329 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14330 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14331 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14333 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14334 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14339 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14340 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14341 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14342 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14343 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14344 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14345 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14346 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14347 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14348 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14349 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14350 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14351 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14352 provided by the active file and overviews.
14354 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14355 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
14356 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14357 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14358 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14361 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14362 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14367 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14368 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14369 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14370 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14371 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14372 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14373 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14377 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14378 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14379 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14380 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14381 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14382 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14383 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14384 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14385 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14387 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14388 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14389 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14390 friendly mail back end all over.
14394 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14395 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14396 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14397 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14398 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14399 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14400 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14401 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14404 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14405 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14406 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14407 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14408 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14409 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14410 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14411 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14412 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14413 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14414 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14416 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14417 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14418 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14419 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14420 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14421 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14422 This will probably be changed in the future.
14424 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14425 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14426 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14427 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14428 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14431 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14432 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
14434 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14435 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14436 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14437 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14438 parameter to somthing small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14439 would) to make it use less memory.
14441 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14442 with other back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14443 depending in part on your filesystem.
14445 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14446 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
14451 @node Browsing the Web
14452 @section Browsing the Web
14454 @cindex browsing the web
14458 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14459 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14460 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14461 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14462 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14463 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14464 even know what a news group is.
14466 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14467 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14468 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14469 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14470 you mad in the end.
14472 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14475 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14476 interfaces to these sources.
14480 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14481 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14482 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14483 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14484 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14485 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14488 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14490 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14491 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14492 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14493 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14494 though, you should be ok.
14496 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14497 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14498 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14499 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14500 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14502 @node Archiving Mail
14503 @subsection Archiving Mail
14504 @cindex archiving mail
14505 @cindex backup of mail
14507 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14508 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14509 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14510 marks is fairly simple.
14512 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14513 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14516 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14517 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14518 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14519 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14520 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14521 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14522 might interfer with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14523 before you restore the data.
14525 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14526 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14527 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14528 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14529 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14530 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14531 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14532 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14533 is unnecessary in that case.
14536 @subsection Web Searches
14541 @cindex Usenet searches
14542 @cindex searching the Usenet
14544 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14545 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14546 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14547 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14548 searches without having to use a browser.
14550 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14551 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14552 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14553 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14554 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14556 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14557 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14558 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14559 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14560 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14561 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14562 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14563 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14564 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14565 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14568 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14569 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14570 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14571 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14572 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14573 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14575 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14576 to use @code{nnweb}.
14578 Virtual server variables:
14583 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14584 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14585 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14588 @vindex nnweb-search
14589 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14591 @item nnweb-max-hits
14592 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14593 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14596 @item nnweb-type-definition
14597 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14598 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14599 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14604 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14608 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14611 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14614 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14618 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14625 @subsection Slashdot
14629 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14630 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14631 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14633 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14634 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14637 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14638 '((nnslashdot "")))
14641 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14642 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14643 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14644 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14645 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14648 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14649 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14651 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14652 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14653 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14654 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14655 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14656 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14659 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14662 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14663 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14664 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14665 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14666 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14667 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14668 but much, much slower than untreaded.
14670 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14671 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14672 The login name to use when posting.
14674 @item nnslashdot-password
14675 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14676 The password to use when posting.
14678 @item nnslashdot-directory
14679 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14680 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14681 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14683 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14684 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14685 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14686 news articles and comments. The default is
14687 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14689 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14690 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14691 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14693 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14695 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14696 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14697 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14699 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14701 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14702 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14703 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14705 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14706 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14707 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14708 updated. The default is 0.
14715 @subsection Ultimate
14717 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14719 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14720 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14721 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14722 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14724 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14725 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14726 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14727 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14728 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14729 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14730 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14732 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14735 @item nnultimate-directory
14736 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14737 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14738 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
14743 @subsection Web Archive
14745 @cindex Web Archive
14747 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
14748 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
14749 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
14750 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14753 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
14754 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
14755 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
14756 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
14757 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
14758 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
14759 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
14761 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
14764 @item nnwarchive-directory
14765 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
14766 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
14767 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
14769 @item nnwarchive-login
14770 @vindex nnwarchive-login
14771 The account name on the web server.
14773 @item nnwarchive-passwd
14774 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
14775 The password for your account on the web server.
14783 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
14784 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
14785 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14788 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
14789 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
14792 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
14795 @item nnrss-directory
14796 @vindex nnrss-directory
14797 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
14798 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
14802 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
14803 the summary buffer.
14806 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
14807 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
14809 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
14811 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
14812 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
14815 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
14818 (require 'browse-url)
14820 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
14822 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
14825 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
14826 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
14828 (browse-url (cdr url))
14829 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
14831 (eval-after-load "gnus"
14832 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
14833 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
14834 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
14837 @node Customizing w3
14838 @subsection Customizing w3
14844 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
14845 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
14846 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
14848 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
14849 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
14850 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
14853 (eval-after-load "w3"
14855 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
14856 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
14857 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
14858 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
14860 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
14863 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
14864 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
14873 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
14874 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
14875 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
14876 specify the network address of the server.
14878 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
14879 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
14880 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
14881 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
14882 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
14884 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
14885 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
14886 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
14887 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
14889 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
14890 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
14891 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
14892 usage explained in this section.
14894 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
14895 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
14896 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
14899 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14900 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
14901 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
14903 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14904 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
14905 ; a UW server running on localhost
14907 (nnimap-server-port 143)
14908 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14909 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
14910 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
14911 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
14912 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
14913 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
14914 (nnimap-stream network))
14915 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14917 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14918 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
14919 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
14922 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
14927 @item nnimap-address
14928 @vindex nnimap-address
14930 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
14931 server name if not specified.
14933 @item nnimap-server-port
14934 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14935 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14937 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
14940 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14941 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14944 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14945 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14946 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14947 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14948 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14949 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14950 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14952 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14953 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14954 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14957 Example server specification:
14960 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14961 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14962 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14965 @item nnimap-stream
14966 @vindex nnimap-stream
14967 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
14968 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
14969 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
14970 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
14972 Example server specification:
14975 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14976 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14979 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
14983 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
14984 @samp{imtest} program.
14986 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
14988 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
14989 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
14992 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
14993 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
14994 library @samp{ssl.el}.
14996 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
14998 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15001 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15002 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15003 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15004 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15005 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15006 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15007 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15008 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15009 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15012 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15013 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15014 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15015 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
15016 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15017 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15018 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15019 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
15020 distribution, for instance).
15022 @vindex imap-shell-program
15023 @vindex imap-shell-host
15024 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15025 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15027 @item nnimap-authenticator
15028 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15030 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15031 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15033 Example server specification:
15036 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15037 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15040 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15044 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15045 external program @code{imtest}.
15047 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15050 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15051 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15053 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15055 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15057 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
15060 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15062 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15063 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15064 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15065 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15066 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15067 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15070 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15071 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15072 running in circles yet?
15074 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15075 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15078 The possible options are:
15083 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
15086 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15087 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15088 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15089 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15091 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15096 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15097 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15099 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15100 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15101 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15102 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15103 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15106 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15107 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15110 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15111 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15112 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15113 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15116 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15117 as ticked for other users.
15119 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15121 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15123 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15124 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15125 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15126 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15128 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15129 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15130 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15131 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15133 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15134 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15136 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15137 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15138 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15144 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15145 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15146 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
15151 @node Splitting in IMAP
15152 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15153 @cindex splitting imap mail
15155 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15156 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15157 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15158 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15159 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15163 Here are the variables of interest:
15167 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15168 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15170 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15172 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15173 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15175 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15177 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15178 @cindex splitting, inbox
15180 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15182 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15183 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15187 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15188 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15191 No nnmail equivalent.
15193 @item nnimap-split-rule
15194 @cindex Splitting, rules
15195 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15197 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15200 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15201 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15202 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15203 Neither did I, we need examples.
15206 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15208 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15209 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15210 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15213 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15214 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15215 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15217 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15218 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15222 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15225 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15226 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15228 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15229 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15230 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15231 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15233 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15234 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15235 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15236 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15237 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15238 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15240 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15241 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15242 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15244 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15245 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15246 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15248 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15250 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15251 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15252 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15255 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15256 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15257 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15258 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15259 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15260 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15263 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15264 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15265 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15266 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15267 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15268 group/function elements.
15270 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15272 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15274 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15276 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15277 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15279 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15280 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15281 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15284 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15285 @cindex splitting, fancy
15286 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15287 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15289 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15290 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15291 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15293 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15294 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15295 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15296 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15301 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15302 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15305 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15309 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15310 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15311 @cindex editing imap acls
15312 @cindex Access Control Lists
15313 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15315 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15317 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15318 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15319 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15322 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15323 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15324 editing window with detailed instructions.
15326 Some possible uses:
15330 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15331 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15332 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15334 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15335 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15336 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15340 @node Expunging mailboxes
15341 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15345 @cindex Manual expunging
15347 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15349 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15350 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15351 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15353 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15358 @node Other Sources
15359 @section Other Sources
15361 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15362 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15366 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15367 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15368 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15369 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15370 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15374 @node Directory Groups
15375 @subsection Directory Groups
15377 @cindex directory groups
15379 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15380 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15383 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15384 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15385 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15386 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15388 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15389 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15390 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15391 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15392 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15394 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15396 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15397 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15398 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15399 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15402 @node Anything Groups
15403 @subsection Anything Groups
15406 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15407 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15408 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15411 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15412 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15413 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15414 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15415 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15416 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15417 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15418 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15419 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15420 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15423 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15424 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15425 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15426 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15428 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15429 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15430 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15431 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15433 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15434 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15435 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15436 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15437 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15438 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15439 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15440 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15445 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15446 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15447 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15448 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15450 @item nneething-exclude-files
15451 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15452 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15453 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15455 @item nneething-include-files
15456 @vindex nneething-include-files
15457 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15458 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15460 @item nneething-map-file
15461 @vindex nneething-map-file
15462 Name of the map files.
15466 @node Document Groups
15467 @subsection Document Groups
15469 @cindex documentation group
15472 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15473 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15480 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15485 The standard Unix mbox file.
15487 @cindex MMDF mail box
15489 The MMDF mail box format.
15492 Several news articles appended into a file.
15495 @cindex rnews batch files
15496 The rnews batch transport format.
15497 @cindex forwarded messages
15500 Forwarded articles.
15503 Netscape mail boxes.
15506 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15508 @item standard-digest
15509 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15512 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15514 @item lanl-gov-announce
15515 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15517 @item rfc822-forward
15518 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15521 The Outlook mail box.
15524 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15527 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15530 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15533 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15539 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15542 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15548 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15549 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15550 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15553 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15554 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15555 group. And that's it.
15557 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15558 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15559 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15560 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15561 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15562 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15563 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15564 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15565 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15566 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15568 Virtual server variables:
15571 @item nndoc-article-type
15572 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15573 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15574 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15575 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15576 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15577 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15579 @item nndoc-post-type
15580 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15581 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15582 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15587 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15591 @node Document Server Internals
15592 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15594 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15595 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15596 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15597 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15599 First, here's an example document type definition:
15603 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15604 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15607 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15608 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15609 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15610 types can be defined with very few settings:
15613 @item first-article
15614 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15615 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15618 @item article-begin
15619 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15620 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15622 @item head-begin-function
15623 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15626 @item nndoc-head-begin
15627 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15630 @item nndoc-head-end
15631 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15632 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
15634 @item body-begin-function
15635 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
15639 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
15642 @item body-end-function
15643 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
15647 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
15650 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
15651 regexp will be totally ignored.
15655 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
15656 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
15657 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
15658 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
15659 something that's palatable for Gnus:
15662 @item prepare-body-function
15663 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
15664 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
15665 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
15667 @item article-transform-function
15668 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
15669 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
15670 body of the article.
15672 @item generate-head-function
15673 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
15674 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
15675 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
15676 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
15680 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
15685 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15686 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15687 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
15688 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
15689 (head-end . "^ ?$")
15690 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
15691 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
15692 (subtype digest guess))
15695 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
15696 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
15697 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
15698 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
15699 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
15701 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
15702 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
15703 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
15704 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
15705 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
15706 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
15707 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
15708 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
15709 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
15710 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
15718 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
15719 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
15720 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
15722 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
15723 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
15724 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
15727 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
15728 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
15729 that interested in doing things properly.
15731 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
15732 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
15735 First some terminology:
15740 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
15741 get news and/or mail from.
15744 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
15745 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
15748 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
15752 @item message packets
15753 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
15754 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
15755 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15757 @item response packets
15758 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
15759 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
15760 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15770 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
15771 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
15772 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
15773 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
15776 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
15779 You put the packet in your home directory.
15782 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
15783 the native or secondary server.
15786 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
15787 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
15790 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
15794 You transfer this packet to the server.
15797 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
15800 You then repeat until you die.
15804 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
15805 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
15808 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
15809 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
15810 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
15814 @node SOUP Commands
15815 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
15817 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
15821 @kindex G s b (Group)
15822 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
15823 Pack all unread articles in the current group
15824 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
15825 process/prefix convention.
15828 @kindex G s w (Group)
15829 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
15830 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
15833 @kindex G s s (Group)
15834 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
15835 Send all replies from the replies packet
15836 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
15839 @kindex G s p (Group)
15840 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
15841 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
15844 @kindex G s r (Group)
15845 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
15846 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
15849 @kindex O s (Summary)
15850 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
15851 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
15852 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
15853 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15858 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
15863 @item gnus-soup-directory
15864 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
15865 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
15866 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
15868 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
15869 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
15870 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
15871 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
15873 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
15874 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
15875 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
15876 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
15878 @item gnus-soup-packer
15879 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
15880 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15881 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
15883 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
15884 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
15885 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15886 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15888 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
15889 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
15890 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
15892 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15893 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15894 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
15895 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
15901 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
15904 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
15905 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
15906 you can read them at leisure.
15908 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
15912 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
15913 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
15914 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
15915 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
15917 @item nnsoup-directory
15918 @vindex nnsoup-directory
15919 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
15920 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
15922 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
15923 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
15924 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
15925 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
15927 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
15928 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
15929 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
15930 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
15931 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
15933 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
15934 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
15935 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
15936 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
15938 @item nnsoup-active-file
15939 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
15940 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
15941 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
15942 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
15943 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
15945 @item nnsoup-packer
15946 @vindex nnsoup-packer
15947 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
15948 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
15950 @item nnsoup-unpacker
15951 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
15952 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
15953 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15955 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
15956 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
15957 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
15960 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
15961 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
15962 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
15965 @item nnsoup-always-save
15966 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
15967 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
15973 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
15975 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
15976 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
15977 more for that to happen.
15979 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
15980 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
15981 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
15984 In specific, this is what it does:
15987 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
15988 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
15991 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
15992 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
15993 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
15996 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
15997 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
15998 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16001 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16002 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16003 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16005 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16011 @item nngateway-address
16012 @vindex nngateway-address
16013 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16015 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16016 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16017 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16018 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16019 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16020 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16021 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16024 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16025 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16026 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16029 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16032 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16035 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16038 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16040 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16043 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16044 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16045 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16047 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16049 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16050 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16051 @code{nngateway-address}.
16056 (setq gnus-post-method
16058 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16059 (nngateway-header-transformation
16060 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16068 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16071 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16076 @node Combined Groups
16077 @section Combined Groups
16079 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16083 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16084 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16088 @node Virtual Groups
16089 @subsection Virtual Groups
16091 @cindex virtual groups
16092 @cindex merging groups
16094 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16097 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16098 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16099 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16101 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16102 regexp to match component groups.
16104 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16105 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16106 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16107 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16108 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16109 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16110 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16111 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16113 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16114 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16117 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16120 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16121 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16123 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16124 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16125 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16126 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16129 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16132 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16133 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16134 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16136 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16137 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16138 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16139 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16140 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16142 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16143 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16144 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16146 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16147 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16148 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16149 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16150 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16151 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16152 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16153 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16154 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16155 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16156 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16158 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16159 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16160 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16161 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16162 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16163 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16164 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16166 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16167 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16169 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16170 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16174 @node Kibozed Groups
16175 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16179 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16180 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16181 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16182 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16184 @kindex G k (Group)
16185 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16188 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16189 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16190 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16191 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16193 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16194 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16195 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16197 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16198 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16199 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16200 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16201 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16202 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16203 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16204 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16206 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16207 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16208 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16209 Stranger things have happened.
16211 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16212 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16214 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16215 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16216 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16217 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16218 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16219 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16221 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16222 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16225 @node Gnus Unplugged
16226 @section Gnus Unplugged
16231 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16233 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16234 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16235 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16236 read news. Believe it or not.
16238 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16239 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16240 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16241 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16242 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16244 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16245 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16246 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16247 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16248 reading news on a machine.
16250 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16251 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16253 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16256 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16257 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16258 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16259 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16260 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16261 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16262 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16263 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16264 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16265 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16266 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16271 @subsection Agent Basics
16273 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16275 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16276 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16277 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16278 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16280 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16281 connected to the net continuously.
16283 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16284 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16286 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16291 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16292 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16293 already fetched while in this mode.
16296 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16297 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16298 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16299 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16300 Source Specifiers}).
16303 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16304 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16305 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16306 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16307 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16310 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16311 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16312 then you read the news offline.
16315 And then you go to step 2.
16318 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16324 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16325 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16326 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16327 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16328 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16329 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16330 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16331 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16334 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16341 @node Agent Categories
16342 @subsection Agent Categories
16344 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16345 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16346 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16347 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16348 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16349 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16350 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16352 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16353 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16354 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16355 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16356 managing categories.
16359 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16360 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16361 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16365 @node Category Syntax
16366 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16368 A category consists of two things.
16372 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16373 are eligible for downloading; and
16376 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16377 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16378 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16381 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16382 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16383 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16384 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16386 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16387 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16388 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16390 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16391 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16392 operators sprinkled in between.
16394 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16396 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16397 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16403 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16404 short (for some value of ``short'').
16406 Here's a more complex predicate:
16415 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16416 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16419 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16420 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16421 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16423 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16424 you want to do, you can write your own.
16428 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16429 lines; default 100.
16432 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16433 lines; default 200.
16436 True iff the article has a download score less than
16437 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16440 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16441 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16444 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16445 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16446 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16455 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16456 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16457 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16460 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16461 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16462 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16463 something along the lines of the following:
16466 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16467 "Say whether an article is old."
16468 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16469 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16472 with the predicate then defined as:
16475 (not my-article-old-p)
16478 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16479 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16483 (require 'gnus-agent)
16484 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16485 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16486 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16489 and simply specify your predicate as:
16495 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16496 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16497 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16498 just don't give a damn.
16500 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16501 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16502 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16503 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16504 parameters like so:
16507 (agent-predicate . short)
16510 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16511 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16512 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16514 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16517 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16520 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16521 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16522 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16525 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16526 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16527 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16528 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16529 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16530 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16532 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16533 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16534 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16535 if it's to be specific to that group.
16537 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16544 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16545 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16551 Category specification
16555 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16561 Group Parameter specification
16564 (agent-score ("from"
16565 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16570 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16576 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16583 Category specification
16586 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16592 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16596 Group Parameter specification
16599 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16602 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16607 Use @code{normal} score files
16609 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16610 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16611 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16612 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16614 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16615 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16616 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16617 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16621 Category Specification
16628 Group Parameter specification
16631 (agent-score . file)
16636 @node Category Buffer
16637 @subsubsection Category Buffer
16639 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
16640 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
16641 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
16643 The following commands are available in this buffer:
16647 @kindex q (Category)
16648 @findex gnus-category-exit
16649 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
16652 @kindex k (Category)
16653 @findex gnus-category-kill
16654 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
16657 @kindex c (Category)
16658 @findex gnus-category-copy
16659 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
16662 @kindex a (Category)
16663 @findex gnus-category-add
16664 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
16667 @kindex p (Category)
16668 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
16669 Edit the predicate of the current category
16670 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
16673 @kindex g (Category)
16674 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
16675 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
16676 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
16679 @kindex s (Category)
16680 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
16681 Edit the download score rule of the current category
16682 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
16685 @kindex l (Category)
16686 @findex gnus-category-list
16687 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
16691 @node Category Variables
16692 @subsubsection Category Variables
16695 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
16696 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
16697 Hook run in category buffers.
16699 @item gnus-category-line-format
16700 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
16701 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
16702 Variables}). Valid elements are:
16706 The name of the category.
16709 The number of groups in the category.
16712 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
16713 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
16714 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
16716 @item gnus-agent-short-article
16717 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
16718 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
16720 @item gnus-agent-long-article
16721 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
16722 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
16724 @item gnus-agent-low-score
16725 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
16726 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
16729 @item gnus-agent-high-score
16730 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
16731 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
16737 @node Agent Commands
16738 @subsection Agent Commands
16740 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
16741 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
16742 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
16746 * Group Agent Commands::
16747 * Summary Agent Commands::
16748 * Server Agent Commands::
16751 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
16752 following incantation:
16754 @cindex gnus-agent-batch
16756 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch
16761 @node Group Agent Commands
16762 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
16766 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
16767 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
16768 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
16769 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
16772 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
16773 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
16774 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
16777 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
16778 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
16779 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
16780 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
16783 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
16784 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
16785 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
16786 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
16789 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
16790 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
16791 Add the current group to an Agent category
16792 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
16793 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16796 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
16797 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
16798 Remove the current group from its category, if any
16799 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
16800 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16803 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
16804 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16805 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
16811 @node Summary Agent Commands
16812 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
16816 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
16817 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
16818 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
16821 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
16822 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
16823 Remove the downloading mark from the article
16824 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
16827 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
16828 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
16829 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
16832 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
16833 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
16834 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
16837 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
16838 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
16839 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
16840 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
16845 @node Server Agent Commands
16846 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
16850 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
16851 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
16852 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
16853 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
16856 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
16857 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
16858 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
16859 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
16864 @node Agent as Cache
16865 @subsection Agent as Cache
16867 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
16868 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
16869 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
16870 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
16871 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
16872 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
16873 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
16874 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
16875 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
16877 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
16878 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
16881 @subsection Agent Expiry
16883 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
16884 @findex gnus-agent-expire
16885 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
16886 @cindex Agent expiry
16887 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
16890 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
16891 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
16892 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
16893 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
16894 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
16895 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
16897 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
16898 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
16899 expiry in different groups.
16902 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
16908 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
16909 method---it must always match all groups.
16911 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
16912 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
16913 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
16914 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
16915 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
16917 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
16918 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
16919 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
16920 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
16922 @node Agent and IMAP
16923 @subsection Agent and IMAP
16925 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
16926 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
16927 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
16928 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
16930 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
16931 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
16932 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
16933 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
16935 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
16936 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
16937 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
16938 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
16940 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16941 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
16942 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
16943 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
16944 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
16945 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
16947 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
16948 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
16949 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
16950 in the group buffer.
16952 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
16953 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
16958 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
16961 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
16965 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
16966 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
16967 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
16968 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
16969 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
16970 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
16971 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
16972 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
16975 @node Outgoing Messages
16976 @subsection Outgoing Messages
16978 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
16979 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
16980 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
16982 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
16983 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
16984 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
16985 messages in the draft group.
16989 @node Agent Variables
16990 @subsection Agent Variables
16993 @item gnus-agent-directory
16994 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
16995 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
16996 @file{~/News/agent/}.
16998 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
16999 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17000 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17001 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17002 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17005 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17006 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17007 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17009 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17010 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17011 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17013 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17014 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17015 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
17017 @item gnus-agent-cache
17018 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17019 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17020 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17021 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17023 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17024 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17025 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17026 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17027 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17028 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17029 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17035 @node Example Setup
17036 @subsection Example Setup
17038 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17039 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17040 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17043 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17044 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17045 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17047 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17048 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17049 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17051 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17052 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17054 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17055 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17056 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17059 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17060 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17063 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17064 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17065 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17066 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17067 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17070 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17071 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17072 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17073 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17074 back all the killed groups.)
17076 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17077 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17078 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17081 @node Batching Agents
17082 @subsection Batching Agents
17084 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17085 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17086 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17090 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
17094 @node Agent Caveats
17095 @subsection Agent Caveats
17097 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17098 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17102 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17106 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17108 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
17112 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17113 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP and also uses the
17114 locally stored articles.
17121 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17122 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17123 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17126 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17127 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17128 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17129 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17130 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17132 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17133 before generating the summary buffer.
17135 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17136 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17137 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17139 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17140 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17141 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17142 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17145 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17146 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17147 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17148 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17149 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17150 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17151 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17152 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17153 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17154 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17155 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17156 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17157 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17158 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17159 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17160 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17161 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17165 @node Summary Score Commands
17166 @section Summary Score Commands
17167 @cindex score commands
17169 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17170 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17171 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17172 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17173 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17175 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17176 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17177 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17178 score file the current one.
17180 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17185 @kindex V s (Summary)
17186 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17187 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17190 @kindex V S (Summary)
17191 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17192 Display the score of the current article
17193 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17196 @kindex V t (Summary)
17197 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17198 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17199 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17202 @kindex V w (Summary)
17203 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17204 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17207 @kindex V R (Summary)
17208 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17209 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17210 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17211 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17212 effect you're having.
17215 @kindex V c (Summary)
17216 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17217 Make a different score file the current
17218 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17221 @kindex V e (Summary)
17222 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17223 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17224 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17228 @kindex V f (Summary)
17229 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17230 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17231 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17234 @kindex V F (Summary)
17235 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17236 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17237 after editing score files.
17240 @kindex V C (Summary)
17241 @findex gnus-score-customize
17242 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17243 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17247 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17252 @kindex V m (Summary)
17253 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17254 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17255 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17258 @kindex V x (Summary)
17259 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17260 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17261 expunge all articles below this score
17262 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17265 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17266 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17269 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17270 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17274 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17275 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17277 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17278 keys are available:
17282 Score on the author name.
17285 Score on the subject line.
17288 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17291 Score on the @code{References} line.
17297 Score on the number of lines.
17300 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17303 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17304 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17307 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17308 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17309 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17318 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17324 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17325 what headers you are scoring on.
17337 Substring matching.
17340 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17369 Greater than number.
17374 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17375 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17376 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17381 Temporary score entry.
17384 Permanent score entry.
17387 Immediately scoring.
17391 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17392 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17393 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17397 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17398 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17399 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17400 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17402 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17403 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17404 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17405 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17406 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17408 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17409 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17410 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17411 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17412 current score file.
17414 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17415 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17416 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17419 @node Group Score Commands
17420 @section Group Score Commands
17421 @cindex group score commands
17423 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17428 @kindex W f (Group)
17429 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17430 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17431 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17432 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17436 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17438 @findex gnus-batch-score
17439 @cindex batch scoring
17441 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17445 @node Score Variables
17446 @section Score Variables
17447 @cindex score variables
17451 @item gnus-use-scoring
17452 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17453 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17454 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17456 @item gnus-kill-killed
17457 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17458 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17459 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17460 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17461 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17462 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17463 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17465 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17466 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17467 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17468 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17469 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17471 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17472 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17473 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17474 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17476 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17477 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17478 @cindex score cache
17479 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17480 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17481 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
17482 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17483 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17484 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17487 @item gnus-save-score
17488 @vindex gnus-save-score
17489 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17490 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17491 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17493 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17494 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17495 across group visits.
17497 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17498 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17499 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17500 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17501 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17502 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17503 manually entered data.
17505 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17506 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17507 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17509 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17510 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17511 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17512 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17513 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17514 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17516 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17517 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17518 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17519 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17521 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17522 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17523 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17524 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17526 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17527 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17528 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17529 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17531 Predefined functions available are:
17534 @item gnus-score-find-single
17535 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17536 Only apply the group's own score file.
17538 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17539 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17540 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17541 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17542 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
17543 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
17544 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
17545 then a regexp match is done.
17547 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
17548 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
17550 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
17551 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
17552 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
17553 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
17555 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17556 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17557 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
17558 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
17559 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
17563 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
17564 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
17565 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
17566 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
17567 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
17568 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
17569 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
17572 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
17573 overall score file, you could use the value
17575 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
17576 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
17579 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
17580 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
17581 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
17582 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
17583 are expired. It's 7 by default.
17585 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17586 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17587 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
17588 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
17589 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
17590 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
17591 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
17592 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
17594 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17595 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17596 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
17598 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
17599 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
17600 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
17601 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
17602 threading---according to the current value of
17603 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
17604 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
17605 simplified in this manner.
17610 @node Score File Format
17611 @section Score File Format
17612 @cindex score file format
17614 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
17615 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
17616 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
17618 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
17622 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
17624 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
17626 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
17628 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
17633 (mark-and-expunge -10)
17637 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
17638 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
17639 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
17640 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
17644 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
17645 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
17647 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
17648 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
17649 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
17651 Six keys are supported by this alist:
17656 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
17657 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
17658 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
17659 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
17660 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
17661 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
17662 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
17663 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
17664 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
17665 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
17666 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
17667 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
17668 to articles that matches these score entries.
17670 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
17671 score entry has one to four elements.
17675 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
17676 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
17680 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
17681 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
17682 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
17683 is successful. If this element is not present, the
17684 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
17685 instead. This is 1000 by default.
17688 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
17689 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
17690 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
17691 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
17692 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
17695 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
17696 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
17697 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
17698 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
17701 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
17702 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
17703 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
17704 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
17705 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
17706 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
17707 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
17708 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
17709 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
17710 instead, if you feel like.
17713 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
17714 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
17715 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
17716 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
17717 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
17718 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
17721 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
17725 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
17726 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
17728 These predicates are true if
17731 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
17734 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
17735 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
17742 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
17743 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
17744 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
17745 it's not. I think.)
17747 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
17748 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
17749 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
17750 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
17753 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
17754 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
17755 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
17756 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
17757 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
17758 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
17759 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
17763 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
17764 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
17765 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
17766 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
17767 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
17768 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
17769 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
17770 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
17773 @item Head, Body, All
17774 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
17778 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
17779 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
17780 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
17781 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
17782 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
17783 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
17784 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
17788 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
17789 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
17790 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
17791 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
17792 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
17793 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
17794 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
17795 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
17796 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
17797 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
17798 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
17802 @cindex Score File Atoms
17804 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17805 lower than this number will be marked as read.
17808 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17809 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
17811 @item mark-and-expunge
17812 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17813 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
17816 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
17817 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
17818 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
17819 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
17820 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
17823 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
17824 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
17827 @item exclude-files
17828 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
17829 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
17833 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
17834 ignored when handling global score files.
17837 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
17838 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
17839 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
17840 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
17843 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
17844 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
17845 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
17846 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
17848 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
17852 (mark-and-expunge -100)
17855 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
17856 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
17857 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
17858 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
17859 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
17861 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
17862 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
17863 scoring rules exist.
17866 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
17867 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
17868 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
17869 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
17870 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
17871 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
17872 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17873 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
17874 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
17875 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
17876 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
17880 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
17881 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
17882 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
17883 file for a number of groups.
17886 @cindex local variables
17887 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
17888 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
17889 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
17890 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
17891 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
17895 @node Score File Editing
17896 @section Score File Editing
17898 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
17899 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
17900 with a mode for that.
17902 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
17903 additional commands:
17908 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
17909 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
17910 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
17911 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
17914 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
17915 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
17916 Insert the current date in numerical format
17917 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
17918 you were wondering.
17921 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
17922 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
17923 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
17924 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
17925 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
17930 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
17932 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
17933 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
17935 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
17936 e} to begin editing score files.
17939 @node Adaptive Scoring
17940 @section Adaptive Scoring
17941 @cindex adaptive scoring
17943 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
17944 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
17945 stupidity, to be precise.
17947 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
17948 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
17949 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
17950 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
17951 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17952 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
17953 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
17954 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
17955 variable to @code{(word line)}.
17957 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
17958 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
17959 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
17960 might look something like this:
17963 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
17964 '((gnus-unread-mark)
17965 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
17966 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
17967 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
17968 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
17969 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
17970 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
17971 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
17972 (gnus-ancient-mark)
17973 (gnus-low-score-mark)
17974 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
17977 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
17978 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
17979 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
17980 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
17981 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
17982 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
17985 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
17986 will be applied to each article.
17988 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
17989 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
17990 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
17991 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
17993 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
17994 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
17995 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
17996 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
17998 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
17999 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18000 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18001 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18003 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18004 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18005 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18006 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18007 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18008 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18010 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
18011 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
18012 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
18013 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
18014 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
18015 aspirins afterwards.)
18017 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18018 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18019 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18021 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18022 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18023 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18025 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18026 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18027 let you use different rules in different groups.
18029 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18030 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18031 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18034 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18035 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18036 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18037 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18038 the length of the match is less than
18039 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18040 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18043 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18044 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18045 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18046 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18047 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18050 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18051 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18052 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18053 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18054 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18057 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18058 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18059 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18060 score with 30 points.
18062 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18063 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18064 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18065 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18066 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18068 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18069 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18070 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18071 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18072 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
18074 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18075 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18076 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18077 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18079 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18080 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18081 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18082 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18084 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18085 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18086 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18087 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18088 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18090 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18091 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18092 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18094 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18095 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18096 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18097 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18100 @node Home Score File
18101 @section Home Score File
18103 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18104 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18105 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18106 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18108 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18109 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18110 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18112 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18113 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18118 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18122 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18123 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18127 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18131 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18132 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18135 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18136 the home score file.
18139 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18142 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18147 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18150 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18151 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18154 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18155 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18157 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18159 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18160 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18163 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18164 Other functions include
18167 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18168 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18169 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18170 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18174 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18175 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18176 their own home score files:
18179 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18180 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18181 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18182 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18183 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18186 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18187 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18188 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18189 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18190 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18192 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18193 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18194 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18195 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18196 precedence over this variable.
18199 @node Followups To Yourself
18200 @section Followups To Yourself
18202 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18203 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18204 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18205 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18206 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18207 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18211 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18212 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18213 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18216 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18217 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18218 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18222 @vindex message-sent-hook
18223 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18224 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18226 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18230 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18231 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18235 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18236 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18239 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18240 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18245 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18249 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18250 is system-dependent.
18253 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18254 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18255 @cindex scoring on other headers
18257 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18258 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18259 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18260 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18261 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18263 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18264 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18265 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18266 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18267 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18269 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18272 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18273 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18276 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18277 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18278 time if you have much mail.
18280 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18281 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18287 @section Scoring Tips
18288 @cindex scoring tips
18294 @cindex scoring crossposts
18295 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18296 the @code{Xref} header.
18298 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18301 @item Multiple crossposts
18302 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18303 more than, say, 3 groups:
18306 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18310 @item Matching on the body
18311 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18312 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18313 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18314 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18315 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18316 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18317 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18320 @item Marking as read
18321 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18322 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18323 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18327 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18329 @item Negated character classes
18330 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18331 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18332 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18336 @node Reverse Scoring
18337 @section Reverse Scoring
18338 @cindex reverse scoring
18340 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18341 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18342 like this in your score file:
18346 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18351 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18352 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18355 @node Global Score Files
18356 @section Global Score Files
18357 @cindex global score files
18359 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18360 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18361 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18363 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18364 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18365 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18367 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18368 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18369 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18370 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18371 files are applicable to which group.
18373 To use the score file
18374 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18375 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18379 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18380 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18381 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18384 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18386 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18387 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18388 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18389 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18391 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18392 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18394 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18395 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18396 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18397 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18398 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18399 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18401 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18407 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18409 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18411 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18413 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18414 lowered out of existence.
18416 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18417 articles completely.
18420 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18421 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18422 old articles for a long time.
18425 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18426 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18427 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18428 holding our breath yet?
18432 @section Kill Files
18435 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18436 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18437 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18439 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18440 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18441 files into score files.
18443 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18444 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18445 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18446 that isn't a very good idea.
18448 Normal kill files look like this:
18451 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18452 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18456 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18457 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18459 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18460 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18463 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18468 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18469 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18470 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18473 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18474 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18475 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18478 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18483 @kindex M-k (Group)
18484 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18485 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18488 @kindex M-K (Group)
18489 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18490 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18493 Kill file variables:
18496 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18497 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18498 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18499 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18500 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18501 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18502 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18504 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18505 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18506 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18507 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
18510 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
18511 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
18512 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
18513 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
18514 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18515 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18516 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18517 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18518 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18520 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18521 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18522 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18527 @node Converting Kill Files
18528 @section Converting Kill Files
18530 @cindex converting kill files
18532 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18533 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18534 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18537 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18538 You can fetch it from
18539 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18541 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18542 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18543 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
18551 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
18552 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
18553 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
18554 news articles generated every day.
18556 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
18557 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
18558 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
18559 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
18560 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
18561 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
18562 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
18563 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
18566 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
18567 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
18570 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
18571 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
18572 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
18573 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
18577 @node Using GroupLens
18578 @subsection Using GroupLens
18580 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
18582 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
18583 better bit in town at the moment.
18585 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
18589 @item gnus-use-grouplens
18590 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
18591 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
18592 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
18594 @item grouplens-pseudonym
18595 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
18596 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
18597 with the Better Bit Bureau.
18599 @item grouplens-newsgroups
18600 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
18601 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
18605 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
18606 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
18607 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
18608 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
18609 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
18610 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
18613 @node Rating Articles
18614 @subsection Rating Articles
18616 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
18617 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
18618 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
18619 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
18622 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
18627 @kindex r (GroupLens)
18628 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
18629 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
18632 @kindex k (GroupLens)
18633 @findex grouplens-score-thread
18634 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
18635 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
18636 threads in rec.humor.
18640 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
18641 the score of the article you're reading.
18646 @kindex n (GroupLens)
18647 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
18648 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
18651 @kindex , (GroupLens)
18652 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
18653 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
18657 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
18658 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
18661 @node Displaying Predictions
18662 @subsection Displaying Predictions
18664 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
18665 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
18666 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
18667 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
18668 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
18670 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
18671 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
18672 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
18673 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
18674 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
18675 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
18676 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
18677 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
18678 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
18679 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
18680 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
18681 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
18682 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
18684 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
18685 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
18686 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
18687 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
18689 The following are valid values for that variable.
18692 @item prediction-spot
18693 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
18696 @item confidence-interval
18697 A numeric confidence interval.
18699 @item prediction-bar
18700 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
18702 @item confidence-bar
18703 Numerical confidence.
18705 @item confidence-spot
18706 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
18708 @item prediction-num
18709 Plain-old numeric value.
18711 @item confidence-plus-minus
18712 Prediction +/- confidence.
18717 @node GroupLens Variables
18718 @subsection GroupLens Variables
18722 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
18723 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
18724 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
18725 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
18728 @item grouplens-bbb-host
18729 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
18732 @item grouplens-bbb-port
18733 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
18735 @item grouplens-score-offset
18736 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
18737 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
18740 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
18741 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
18742 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
18747 @node Advanced Scoring
18748 @section Advanced Scoring
18750 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
18751 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
18752 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
18753 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
18754 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
18756 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
18760 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
18761 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
18762 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
18766 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
18767 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
18769 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
18770 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
18771 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
18772 non-@code{nil} value.
18774 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
18775 operator, and various match operators.
18782 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18783 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
18784 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
18789 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18790 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
18791 then this operator will return @code{false}.
18796 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
18797 logical negation of the value of its argument.
18801 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
18802 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
18803 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
18804 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
18805 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
18806 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
18807 the ancestry you want to go.
18809 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
18810 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
18811 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
18812 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
18813 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
18816 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
18817 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
18819 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
18820 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
18823 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
18824 when he's talking about Gnus:
18828 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18829 ("subject" "Gnus"))
18835 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
18839 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18846 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
18847 really don't want to read what he's written:
18851 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18852 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
18856 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
18857 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
18858 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
18865 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
18866 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
18867 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
18868 ("body" "white.*socks"))
18872 The possibilities are endless.
18875 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
18876 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
18878 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
18879 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
18880 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
18881 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
18882 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
18883 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
18884 @samp{subject}) first.
18886 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
18887 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
18898 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
18899 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
18905 ("subject" "Gnus")))
18912 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
18913 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
18918 @section Score Decays
18919 @cindex score decays
18922 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
18923 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
18924 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
18925 use them in any sensible way.
18927 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
18928 @findex gnus-decay-score
18929 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
18930 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
18931 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
18932 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
18933 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
18934 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
18935 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
18936 definition of that function:
18939 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
18941 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
18942 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
18945 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
18947 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
18949 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
18952 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
18953 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
18954 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
18955 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
18959 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
18962 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
18965 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
18969 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
18970 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
18971 the new score, which should be an integer.
18973 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
18974 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
18979 @include message.texi
18980 @chapter Emacs MIME
18981 @include emacs-mime.texi
18983 @include sieve.texi
18991 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
18992 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
18993 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
18994 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
18995 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
18996 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
18997 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
18998 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
18999 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19000 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19001 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19002 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19003 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19004 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19005 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19006 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19007 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19008 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19009 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19013 @node Process/Prefix
19014 @section Process/Prefix
19015 @cindex process/prefix convention
19017 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19018 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19020 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19021 command to be performed on.
19025 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19026 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19027 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19028 with the current one.
19030 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19031 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19032 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19034 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19035 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19038 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19039 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19041 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19044 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19045 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19046 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19047 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19049 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19050 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19051 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19052 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19053 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19054 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19055 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19056 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19058 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19059 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19060 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19061 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19062 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
19066 @section Interactive
19067 @cindex interaction
19071 @item gnus-novice-user
19072 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19073 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19074 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19075 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19076 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19079 @item gnus-expert-user
19080 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19081 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19082 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19083 matter how strange.
19085 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19086 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19087 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19088 is @code{t} by default.
19090 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19091 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19092 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19097 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19098 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19099 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19101 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19102 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19103 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19104 rule of 900 to the current article.
19106 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19107 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19108 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19109 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19110 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19111 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19112 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19114 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19115 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19116 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19117 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19118 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19119 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19120 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19121 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19122 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19124 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19125 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19126 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19128 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19132 @node Formatting Variables
19133 @section Formatting Variables
19134 @cindex formatting variables
19136 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19137 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19138 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19139 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19140 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19143 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19144 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19145 lots of percentages everywhere.
19148 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19149 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19150 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19151 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19152 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19153 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19154 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19155 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19158 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19159 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19160 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19161 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19162 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19163 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19164 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19165 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19167 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19168 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19170 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19171 @findex gnus-update-format
19172 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19173 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19174 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19175 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19179 @node Formatting Basics
19180 @subsection Formatting Basics
19182 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19183 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19184 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19186 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19187 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19188 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19189 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19190 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19193 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19194 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19195 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19196 less than 4 characters wide.
19198 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19199 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19202 @node Mode Line Formatting
19203 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19205 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19206 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19207 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19208 with the following two differences:
19213 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19216 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19217 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19218 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19219 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19220 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19221 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19222 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19227 @node Advanced Formatting
19228 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19230 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19231 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19232 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19233 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19235 These are the valid modifiers:
19240 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19244 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19249 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19252 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19257 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19260 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19263 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19266 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19272 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19277 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19278 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19279 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19280 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19281 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19282 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19283 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19285 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19286 last operation, padding.
19288 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
19289 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
19290 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
19291 @xref{Compilation}.
19294 @node User-Defined Specs
19295 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19297 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19298 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19299 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19300 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19301 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19302 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19303 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19304 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19305 should protect against that.
19307 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19308 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19310 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19311 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19312 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19313 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19317 @node Formatting Fonts
19318 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19320 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19321 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19322 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19323 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19326 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19327 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19328 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19329 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19330 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19331 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19333 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
19334 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
19335 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
19336 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
19337 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
19338 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
19339 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
19340 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
19342 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19345 ;; Create three face types.
19346 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19347 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19349 ;; We want the article count to be in
19350 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19351 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19352 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19354 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19355 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19357 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19358 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19359 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19362 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19363 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19365 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19366 mode-line variables.
19368 @node Positioning Point
19369 @subsection Positioning Point
19371 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19372 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19373 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19375 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19377 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19378 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19379 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19381 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19382 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
19383 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19388 @subsection Tabulation
19390 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19391 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19392 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19393 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19395 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19396 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19398 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19399 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19400 This is the soft tabulator.
19402 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19403 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19404 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19407 @node Wide Characters
19408 @subsection Wide Characters
19410 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19411 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19412 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19414 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19415 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19416 these coutries, that's not true.
19418 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19419 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19420 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19421 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
19425 @node Window Layout
19426 @section Window Layout
19427 @cindex window layout
19429 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19431 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19432 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19433 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19434 @code{t} by default.
19436 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19437 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19439 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19440 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19441 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19444 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19445 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19446 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19450 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19451 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19452 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19453 possible names is listed below.
19455 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19456 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19459 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19463 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19464 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19465 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19466 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19467 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19468 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19469 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19470 size spec per split.
19472 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19473 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19474 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19475 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19476 present) gets focus.
19478 Here's a more complicated example:
19481 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19482 (summary 0.25 point)
19483 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19487 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19488 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19489 occupy, not a percentage.
19491 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19492 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19493 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19494 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19495 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19498 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19501 (article (horizontal 1.0
19506 (summary 0.25 point)
19511 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
19512 @code{horizontal} thingie?
19514 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19515 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19516 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19517 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19518 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19520 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19521 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19522 lines from the splits.
19524 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19528 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19529 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19530 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19531 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19532 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19533 size = number | frame-params
19534 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19537 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19538 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19539 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19540 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19542 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19543 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19544 @cindex window height
19545 @cindex window width
19546 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
19547 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
19548 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
19549 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
19550 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
19551 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
19553 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
19554 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
19555 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
19556 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
19558 @findex gnus-configure-frame
19559 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
19560 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
19561 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
19562 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
19563 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
19564 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
19565 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
19566 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
19567 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
19568 configuration list.
19571 (gnus-configure-frame
19575 (article 0.3 point))
19583 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
19584 @code{frame} split:
19587 (gnus-configure-frame
19590 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
19592 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
19593 (user-position . t)
19594 (left . -1) (top . 1))
19599 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
19600 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
19601 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
19602 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
19603 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
19604 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
19605 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
19606 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
19608 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
19609 be found in its default value.
19611 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
19612 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
19613 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
19617 (message (horizontal 1.0
19618 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
19620 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
19625 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
19626 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
19627 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
19632 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
19633 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
19634 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
19635 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
19636 (name . "Message"))
19637 (message 1.0 point))))
19640 @findex gnus-add-configuration
19641 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
19642 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
19643 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
19644 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
19647 (gnus-add-configuration
19648 '(article (vertical 1.0
19650 (summary .25 point)
19654 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
19655 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
19656 Gnus has been loaded.
19658 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
19659 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
19660 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
19661 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
19662 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
19664 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
19665 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
19666 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
19669 @subsection Example Window Configurations
19673 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
19674 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
19689 (gnus-add-configuration
19692 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19694 (summary 0.16 point)
19697 (gnus-add-configuration
19700 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19701 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
19707 @node Faces and Fonts
19708 @section Faces and Fonts
19713 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
19714 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
19715 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
19720 @section Compilation
19721 @cindex compilation
19722 @cindex byte-compilation
19724 @findex gnus-compile
19726 Remember all those line format specification variables?
19727 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
19728 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
19729 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
19730 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
19731 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
19734 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
19735 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
19736 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
19737 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
19738 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
19739 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
19740 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
19744 @section Mode Lines
19747 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
19748 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
19749 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
19750 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
19751 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
19752 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
19753 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
19756 @cindex display-time
19758 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
19759 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
19760 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
19761 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
19762 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
19763 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
19764 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
19765 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
19768 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
19770 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
19771 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
19773 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
19774 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
19775 (length display-time-string)))))
19778 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
19779 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
19780 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
19781 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
19782 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
19785 @node Highlighting and Menus
19786 @section Highlighting and Menus
19788 @cindex highlighting
19791 @vindex gnus-visual
19792 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
19793 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
19794 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
19797 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
19798 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
19801 @item group-highlight
19802 Do highlights in the group buffer.
19803 @item summary-highlight
19804 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
19805 @item article-highlight
19806 Do highlights in the article buffer.
19808 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
19810 Create menus in the group buffer.
19812 Create menus in the summary buffers.
19814 Create menus in the article buffer.
19816 Create menus in the browse buffer.
19818 Create menus in the server buffer.
19820 Create menus in the score buffers.
19822 Create menus in all buffers.
19825 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
19826 buffers, you could say something like:
19829 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
19832 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
19835 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
19838 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
19839 in all Gnus buffers.
19841 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
19844 @item gnus-mouse-face
19845 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
19846 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
19847 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
19851 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
19855 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
19856 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
19857 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
19859 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
19860 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
19861 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
19863 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
19864 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
19865 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
19867 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
19868 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
19869 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
19871 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
19872 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
19873 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
19875 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
19876 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
19877 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
19888 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
19889 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
19890 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
19891 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
19892 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
19896 @vindex gnus-carpal
19897 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
19898 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
19899 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
19904 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19905 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19906 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
19908 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
19909 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
19910 Face used on buttons.
19912 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
19913 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
19914 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
19916 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
19917 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
19918 Buttons in the group buffer.
19920 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
19921 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
19922 Buttons in the summary buffer.
19924 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
19925 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
19926 Buttons in the server buffer.
19928 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
19929 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
19930 Buttons in the browse buffer.
19933 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
19934 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
19935 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
19943 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
19944 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
19945 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
19946 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
19947 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
19949 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
19950 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
19951 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
19953 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
19954 been idle for thirty minutes:
19957 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
19960 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
19964 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
19967 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
19968 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
19969 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
19971 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
19972 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
19973 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
19974 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
19976 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
19977 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
19978 @var{idle} minutes.
19980 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
19981 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
19984 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
19985 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
19986 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
19988 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
19989 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
19990 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
19991 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
19993 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
19994 your @file{.gnus} file:
19996 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
19998 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20001 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20002 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20003 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20004 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20005 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20006 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20007 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20008 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20009 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20010 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20011 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
20013 @findex gnus-demon-init
20014 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20015 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20016 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20017 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20018 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20020 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20021 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20022 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20031 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20032 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20034 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20035 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20036 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20037 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20040 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20041 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20042 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20043 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20045 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20046 this will make spam disappear.
20048 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20051 @item gnus-use-nocem
20052 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20053 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20056 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20057 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20058 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20059 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20060 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20062 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20063 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20064 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20065 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20066 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20067 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20069 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20070 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20072 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20073 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20074 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20075 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20076 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20077 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20078 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20079 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20080 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20081 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20083 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20084 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20087 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20090 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20091 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20094 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20097 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20100 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20101 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20103 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20104 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20105 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20106 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20108 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20109 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20112 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20114 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20122 This might be dangerous, though.
20124 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20125 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20126 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20127 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20129 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20130 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20131 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20132 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20133 might then see old spam.
20135 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20136 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20137 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20138 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20139 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20142 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20143 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20144 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20145 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20149 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20150 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20151 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20152 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20159 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20160 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20161 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20163 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20164 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20165 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20166 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20167 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20168 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20169 @code{undo} function.
20171 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20172 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20173 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20174 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20175 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20176 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20177 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20178 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20179 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20180 never be totally undoable.
20182 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20183 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20185 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20186 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20187 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20188 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20192 @node Predicate Specifiers
20193 @section Predicate Specifiers
20194 @cindex predicate specifiers
20196 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20197 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20198 to type all that much.
20200 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20205 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20206 gnus-article-unread-p)
20209 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20210 functions all take one parameter.
20212 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20213 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20214 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20215 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20220 @section Moderation
20223 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20224 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20225 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20228 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20232 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20235 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20237 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20242 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20243 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20244 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20247 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20248 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20251 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20252 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20256 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20259 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20260 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20264 @node Image Enhancements
20265 @section Image Enhancements
20267 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20268 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20271 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20272 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20273 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20274 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
20275 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20288 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20289 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20290 over your shoulder as you read news.
20293 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
20294 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
20295 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
20296 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
20297 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
20302 @subsubsection Picon Basics
20304 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20313 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20314 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20315 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20316 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20317 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20318 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20319 @code{GIF} formats.
20322 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20323 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
20324 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
20325 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
20326 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
20328 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20329 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
20330 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
20331 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
20332 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
20333 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20335 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20336 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20339 @node Picon Requirements
20340 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
20342 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
20343 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
20344 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
20345 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
20347 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20348 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
20349 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
20350 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
20351 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
20352 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20355 @subsubsection Easy Picons
20357 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
20358 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
20361 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
20362 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
20365 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
20366 containing the Picons databases.
20368 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
20371 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20372 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
20377 @subsubsection Hard Picons
20385 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
20386 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
20387 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
20388 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
20389 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
20394 @item gnus-picons-database
20395 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20396 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
20397 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20398 subdirectories. This is only useful if
20399 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
20400 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
20402 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20403 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20404 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
20405 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
20406 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
20407 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
20408 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20410 @item gnus-picons-display-where
20411 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20412 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
20413 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
20414 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
20415 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
20416 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
20417 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
20419 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20420 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20421 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
20426 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
20427 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
20429 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
20430 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
20433 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20435 @item gnus-article-display-picons
20436 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
20437 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
20438 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
20440 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20441 @findex gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20442 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
20443 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the function name, not @code{xface})
20449 @node Picon Useless Configuration
20450 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
20458 The following variables offer further control over how things are
20459 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
20460 don't need to worry about.
20464 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
20465 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
20466 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20467 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20469 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
20470 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
20471 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
20472 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
20474 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
20475 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
20476 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20477 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20478 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20480 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20481 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20482 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
20483 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
20484 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
20485 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
20486 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
20487 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20489 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20490 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20491 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
20492 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
20493 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20495 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20496 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20497 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
20498 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
20499 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
20500 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
20501 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
20503 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20504 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20505 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
20506 Defaults to @code{nil}.
20508 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
20509 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
20510 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
20511 Defaults to @code{t}.
20513 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20514 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20515 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20516 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
20518 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
20519 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
20520 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
20522 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20523 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20524 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
20525 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
20527 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
20528 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
20530 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20531 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20532 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
20533 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
20534 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
20535 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
20536 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
20537 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
20548 @subsection Smileys
20553 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20558 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20559 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20561 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20562 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20565 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20568 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
20569 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20570 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20571 text and maps that to file names.
20573 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
20574 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
20575 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
20576 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
20577 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
20578 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
20580 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
20581 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
20583 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
20584 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
20585 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
20587 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20588 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
20592 @item smiley-data-directory
20593 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20594 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20596 @item smiley-flesh-color
20597 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
20598 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
20600 @item smiley-features-color
20601 @vindex smiley-features-color
20602 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20604 @item smiley-tongue-color
20605 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
20606 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
20608 @item smiley-circle-color
20609 @vindex smiley-circle-color
20610 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20612 @item smiley-mouse-face
20613 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
20614 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
20623 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20624 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20625 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20629 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20630 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20631 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20632 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20640 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20641 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20642 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20643 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20645 The variable that controls this is the
20646 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20647 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20648 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20649 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20650 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20652 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20653 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20654 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20655 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20658 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20659 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20660 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20661 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20662 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20663 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20664 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20665 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20667 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20670 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20671 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20673 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20674 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files
20675 in @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20676 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20677 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20678 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big.
20680 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a file as the parameter, and then
20681 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20682 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20684 Here's how you would typically use the former function. Put something
20685 like the folllowing in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20688 (setq message-required-news-headers
20689 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20690 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20693 Using the latter function would be something like this:
20696 (setq message-required-news-headers
20697 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20698 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20699 (gnus-x-face-from-file
20700 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
20705 @subsection Toolbar
20715 @item gnus-use-toolbar
20716 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
20717 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
20718 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
20719 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
20721 @item gnus-group-toolbar
20722 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
20723 The toolbar in the group buffer.
20725 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
20726 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
20727 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
20729 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20730 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20731 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
20737 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
20740 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20741 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20742 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
20743 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
20744 unusual directory structure.
20746 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20747 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20748 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
20749 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
20751 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20752 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20753 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
20754 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
20755 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
20756 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
20758 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20759 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20760 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
20774 @node Fuzzy Matching
20775 @section Fuzzy Matching
20776 @cindex fuzzy matching
20778 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
20779 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
20781 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
20782 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
20783 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
20785 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
20786 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
20787 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
20788 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
20789 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
20792 @node Thwarting Email Spam
20793 @section Thwarting Email Spam
20797 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20799 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
20800 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
20801 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
20802 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
20803 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
20804 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
20805 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
20806 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
20809 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
20810 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
20811 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
20812 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
20813 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
20814 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
20819 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
20820 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
20821 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
20824 @node Anti-Spam Basics
20825 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
20829 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20831 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
20832 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
20834 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
20835 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
20836 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
20837 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
20838 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
20839 part of the mail address.)
20842 (setq message-default-news-headers
20843 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
20846 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
20847 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
20852 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
20853 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
20854 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
20860 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
20861 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
20862 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
20863 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
20865 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
20866 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
20867 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
20868 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
20869 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
20870 your fancy split rule in this way:
20875 (to "larsi" "misc")
20879 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
20880 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
20881 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
20882 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
20883 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
20885 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
20886 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
20887 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
20888 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
20889 cosmic balance somewhat.
20891 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
20892 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
20893 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
20894 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
20899 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
20900 @cindex SpamAssassin
20901 @cindex Vipul's Razor
20904 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
20905 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
20906 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
20907 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
20908 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
20909 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
20910 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
20912 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
20913 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
20914 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
20915 Specifiers}) follows.
20919 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
20922 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
20925 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
20926 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
20927 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
20930 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
20934 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
20937 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
20938 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
20942 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
20943 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
20944 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
20945 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
20948 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
20950 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
20952 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
20953 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
20955 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
20957 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
20958 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
20962 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
20963 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
20964 spam. And here is the nifty function:
20967 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
20968 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
20970 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
20971 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
20972 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
20976 @subsection Hashcash
20979 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
20980 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
20981 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
20982 since it is not part of the internet standards, but it may be useful
20983 in smaller communities.
20985 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
20986 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
20987 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
20988 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
20989 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
20990 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
20991 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
20992 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
20993 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
20994 one of them separately.
20997 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
20998 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
20999 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21000 header. For more details, and for the external application
21001 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21002 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21003 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21005 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21009 (require 'hashcash)
21010 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21013 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21014 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21015 development contrib directory.
21017 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21021 @item hashcash-default-payment
21022 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21023 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21024 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21025 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21027 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21028 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21029 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21030 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
21031 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
21032 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
21033 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21034 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21038 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21042 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21043 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21044 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21045 a useful contribution, however.
21047 @node Various Various
21048 @section Various Various
21054 @item gnus-home-directory
21055 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
21056 defaults to @file{~/}.
21058 @item gnus-directory
21059 @vindex gnus-directory
21060 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
21061 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
21062 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
21064 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
21065 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
21066 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
21067 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
21069 @item gnus-default-directory
21070 @vindex gnus-default-directory
21071 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
21072 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
21073 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
21074 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
21075 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
21076 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
21079 @vindex gnus-verbose
21080 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
21081 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
21082 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
21083 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
21084 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
21086 @item gnus-verbose-backends
21087 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
21088 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
21089 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
21091 @item nnheader-max-head-length
21092 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
21093 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
21094 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
21095 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
21096 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
21097 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
21098 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
21099 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
21100 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
21102 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
21103 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
21104 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
21105 read when doing the operation described above.
21107 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21108 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21110 @cindex invalid characters in file names
21111 @cindex characters in file names
21112 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
21113 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
21114 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
21117 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21121 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
21122 Windows (phooey) systems.
21124 @item gnus-hidden-properties
21125 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
21126 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
21127 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
21128 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
21130 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
21131 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
21132 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
21133 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
21134 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
21136 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
21137 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
21138 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
21140 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21141 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21143 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
21144 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
21145 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
21146 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
21149 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
21157 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
21158 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
21160 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
21162 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
21168 Not because of victories @*
21171 but for the common sunshine,@*
21173 the largess of the spring.
21177 but for the day's work done@*
21178 as well as I was able;@*
21179 not for a seat upon the dais@*
21180 but at the common table.@*
21185 @chapter Appendices
21188 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
21189 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
21190 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
21191 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
21192 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
21193 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
21194 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
21195 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
21196 * Frequently Asked Questions::
21203 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
21205 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
21206 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
21207 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
21208 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
21209 @samp{xemacs-base}, and @samp{fsf-compat}.
21216 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
21217 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
21219 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
21220 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
21221 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
21222 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
21223 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
21225 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
21226 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
21227 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
21228 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
21229 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
21230 appropriate name, don't you think?)
21232 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
21233 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
21234 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
21235 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
21238 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
21239 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
21240 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
21241 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
21242 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
21243 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
21244 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
21245 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
21246 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
21250 @node Gnus Versions
21251 @subsection Gnus Versions
21253 @cindex September Gnus
21255 @cindex Quassia Gnus
21256 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
21260 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
21261 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
21262 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
21264 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
21265 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
21267 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
21268 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
21270 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
21271 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
21273 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
21274 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
21277 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
21279 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
21280 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
21281 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
21282 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
21283 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
21284 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
21287 @node Other Gnus Versions
21288 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
21291 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
21292 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
21293 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
21294 @sc{mime} capabilities.
21296 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
21297 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
21298 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
21299 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
21306 What's the point of Gnus?
21308 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
21309 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
21310 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
21311 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
21312 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
21313 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
21314 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
21315 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
21316 keep track of millions of people who post?
21318 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
21319 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
21320 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
21321 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
21322 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
21323 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
21324 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
21325 every one of you to explore and invent.
21327 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
21328 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
21331 @node Compatibility
21332 @subsection Compatibility
21334 @cindex compatibility
21335 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
21336 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
21337 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
21342 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
21346 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
21349 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
21352 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
21353 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
21354 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
21355 important variables have their values copied into their global
21356 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
21357 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
21359 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
21360 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
21361 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
21362 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
21363 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
21367 @cindex highlighting
21368 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
21369 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
21370 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
21371 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
21372 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
21373 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
21376 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
21377 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
21378 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
21379 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
21381 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
21382 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
21383 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
21384 to stop doing it the old way.
21386 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
21388 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21390 @cindex reporting bugs
21392 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
21393 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
21394 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
21396 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
21397 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
21398 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
21399 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
21404 @subsection Conformity
21406 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
21407 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
21415 There are no known breaches of this standard.
21419 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
21421 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
21422 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
21423 We do have some breaches to this one.
21429 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
21430 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
21431 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
21432 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
21433 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
21438 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
21439 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
21440 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
21441 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
21443 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
21445 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
21447 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
21448 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
21450 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
21453 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
21454 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
21455 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
21456 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
21457 decoding (verification and decryption).
21459 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
21460 RFC 2015 (superceded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
21461 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
21462 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
21464 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
21465 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
21467 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
21468 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
21469 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
21470 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
21471 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
21472 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
21473 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
21477 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
21478 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
21483 @subsection Emacsen
21489 Gnus should work on :
21497 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
21501 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
21502 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
21505 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
21506 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
21507 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
21511 @node Gnus Development
21512 @subsection Gnus Development
21514 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
21515 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
21516 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
21517 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
21518 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
21519 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
21520 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
21521 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
21523 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
21524 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
21525 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
21526 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
21527 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
21530 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
21531 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
21532 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
21533 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
21534 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
21536 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
21537 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
21538 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
21539 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
21540 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
21541 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
21542 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
21543 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
21544 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
21545 can't be assumed to do so.
21550 @subsection Contributors
21551 @cindex contributors
21553 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
21554 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
21555 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
21556 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
21557 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
21558 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
21559 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
21560 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
21561 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
21562 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
21564 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
21570 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
21573 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
21574 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
21575 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
21576 functionality and stuff.
21579 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
21580 well as numerous other things).
21583 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
21586 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
21589 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
21592 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
21595 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
21596 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
21599 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
21602 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
21603 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
21606 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
21609 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
21612 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
21615 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
21618 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
21619 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
21622 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
21625 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
21628 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
21631 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
21635 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
21638 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
21641 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
21644 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
21645 well as autoconf support.
21649 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
21650 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
21652 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
21661 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
21665 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
21675 Alexei V. Barantsev,
21690 Massimo Campostrini,
21695 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
21696 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
21700 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
21703 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
21709 Michael Welsh Duggan,
21714 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
21718 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
21726 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
21728 Michelangelo Grigni,
21732 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
21734 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
21736 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
21743 François Felix Ingrand,
21744 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
21745 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
21747 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
21758 Peter Skov Knudsen,
21759 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
21761 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
21762 Thor Kristoffersen,
21765 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
21783 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
21784 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
21791 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
21796 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
21800 John McClary Prevost,
21806 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
21811 Christian von Roques,
21814 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
21821 Philippe Schnoebelen,
21823 Randal L. Schwartz,
21837 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
21842 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
21858 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
21863 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
21864 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
21865 (550kB and counting).
21867 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
21870 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
21871 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
21875 @subsection New Features
21876 @cindex new features
21879 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
21880 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
21881 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
21882 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
21883 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
21886 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
21887 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
21888 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
21891 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
21893 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
21898 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
21899 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
21902 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
21903 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
21906 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
21909 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
21910 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
21911 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
21914 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
21915 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
21916 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
21917 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
21920 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
21921 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
21924 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
21925 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
21926 (@pxref{The Active File}).
21929 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
21930 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
21933 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
21934 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
21935 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
21938 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
21939 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
21940 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
21943 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
21944 the @file{.emacs} file.
21947 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
21948 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
21951 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
21952 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
21955 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
21956 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
21959 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
21960 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
21963 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
21964 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
21967 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
21970 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
21971 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
21974 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
21975 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
21978 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
21979 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
21982 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
21985 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
21986 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
21989 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
21993 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
21997 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
21998 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
22001 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
22007 @node September Gnus
22008 @subsubsection September Gnus
22012 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
22016 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
22021 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
22022 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
22026 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
22027 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
22031 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
22035 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
22036 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
22039 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
22043 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22046 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
22049 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
22052 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
22056 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
22057 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
22060 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
22064 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
22068 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
22072 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
22076 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
22079 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
22080 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
22083 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
22087 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
22088 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
22091 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
22094 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
22095 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
22096 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22099 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
22103 The Gnus cache is much faster.
22106 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
22110 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
22111 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
22114 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
22115 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
22118 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
22119 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
22122 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
22123 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
22124 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
22127 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
22128 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
22131 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
22134 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22137 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
22140 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
22143 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
22144 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
22147 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
22151 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
22154 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
22159 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
22162 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
22166 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22169 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
22173 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
22176 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
22179 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
22180 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
22183 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
22184 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
22188 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
22189 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
22192 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
22196 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
22197 buffer to allow easier treatment.
22200 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
22203 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
22207 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
22211 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
22212 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
22215 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
22219 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
22220 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22223 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
22224 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22227 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
22231 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22234 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
22237 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
22243 @subsubsection Red Gnus
22245 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
22249 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
22256 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
22259 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
22260 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
22263 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
22264 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
22268 Article washing status can be displayed in the
22269 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
22272 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
22275 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
22276 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
22279 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
22283 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
22284 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
22288 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
22289 Server Internals}).
22292 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
22296 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
22299 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
22300 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
22303 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
22304 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
22305 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
22308 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
22309 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22312 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
22313 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
22316 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
22320 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
22321 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22324 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
22325 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
22328 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
22332 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
22335 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
22339 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
22340 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22343 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
22344 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22347 A new command for reading collections of documents
22348 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
22349 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
22352 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
22356 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
22357 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
22360 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
22361 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
22362 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
22365 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
22366 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
22370 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
22374 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
22378 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
22383 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
22387 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
22391 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
22392 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
22395 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
22401 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
22403 New features in Gnus 5.6:
22408 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
22409 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
22410 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
22413 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
22414 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
22415 group, which is created automatically.
22418 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
22422 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
22425 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
22426 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
22429 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
22433 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
22436 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
22437 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
22440 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
22443 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
22444 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
22447 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
22448 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
22451 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
22452 control over simplification.
22455 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
22458 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
22462 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
22465 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
22468 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
22469 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
22470 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
22473 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
22474 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
22477 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
22481 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
22482 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
22485 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
22486 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
22489 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
22493 A history of where mails have been split is available.
22496 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
22499 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
22500 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
22503 A new function for citing in Message has been
22504 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
22507 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
22510 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
22514 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
22515 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
22518 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
22519 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
22522 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
22525 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
22529 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
22530 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
22532 New features in Gnus 5.8:
22537 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
22538 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
22540 If you used procmail like in
22543 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
22544 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
22545 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
22546 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
22549 this now has changed to
22553 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
22557 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
22558 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
22561 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
22562 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
22565 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
22566 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
22569 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
22570 called to position point.
22573 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
22574 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
22577 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
22578 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
22581 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
22582 subtly different manner.
22585 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
22586 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
22587 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
22590 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
22598 @section The Manual
22602 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
22603 either @code{texi2dvi}
22605 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
22606 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
22608 to get what you hold in your hands now.
22610 The following conventions have been used:
22615 This is a @samp{string}
22618 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
22621 This is a @file{file}
22624 This is a @code{symbol}
22628 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
22632 (setq flargnoze "yes")
22635 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
22638 (setq flumphel 'yes)
22641 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
22642 ever get them confused.
22646 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
22647 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
22648 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
22649 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
22650 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
22651 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
22652 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
22658 @node On Writing Manuals
22659 @section On Writing Manuals
22661 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
22662 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
22663 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
22664 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
22665 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
22666 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
22669 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
22670 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
22671 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
22674 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
22675 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
22680 @section Terminology
22682 @cindex terminology
22687 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
22688 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
22689 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
22690 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
22691 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
22695 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
22696 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
22697 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
22698 not posting, and replying is not following up.
22702 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
22706 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
22711 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
22712 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
22713 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
22714 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
22715 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
22716 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
22717 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
22718 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
22719 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
22721 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
22722 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
22723 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
22724 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
22725 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
22728 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
22729 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
22730 access the articles.
22732 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
22733 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
22734 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
22739 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
22740 default, way of getting news.
22744 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
22745 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
22750 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
22751 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
22755 A message that has been posted as news.
22758 @cindex mail message
22759 A message that has been mailed.
22763 A mail message or news article
22767 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
22772 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
22777 A line from the head of an article.
22781 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
22782 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
22786 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
22787 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
22788 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
22789 normal @sc{head} format.
22793 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
22794 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
22795 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
22796 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
22797 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
22798 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
22800 @item killed groups
22801 @cindex killed groups
22802 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
22803 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
22805 @item zombie groups
22806 @cindex zombie groups
22807 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
22810 @cindex active file
22811 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
22812 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
22813 is rather large, as you might surmise.
22816 @cindex bogus groups
22817 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
22818 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
22819 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
22822 @cindex activating groups
22823 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
22824 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
22825 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
22829 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
22831 @item select method
22832 @cindex select method
22833 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
22836 @item virtual server
22837 @cindex virtual server
22838 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
22839 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
22840 whole is a virtual server.
22844 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
22845 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
22848 @item ephemeral groups
22849 @cindex ephemeral groups
22850 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
22851 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
22852 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
22855 @cindex solid groups
22856 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
22857 group buffer are solid groups.
22859 @item sparse articles
22860 @cindex sparse articles
22861 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
22862 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
22866 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
22867 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
22871 @cindex thread root
22872 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
22873 articles in the thread.
22877 An article that has responses.
22881 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
22885 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
22886 specified by RFC 1153.
22892 @node Customization
22893 @section Customization
22894 @cindex general customization
22896 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
22897 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
22898 for some quite common situations.
22901 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
22902 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
22903 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
22904 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
22908 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
22909 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
22911 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
22912 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
22913 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
22917 @item gnus-read-active-file
22918 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
22919 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
22920 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
22921 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
22922 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
22924 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
22925 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
22926 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
22927 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
22931 @node Slow Terminal Connection
22932 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
22934 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
22935 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
22936 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
22940 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
22941 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
22942 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
22943 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
22944 horizontal and vertical recentering.
22946 @item gnus-visible-headers
22947 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
22948 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
22949 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
22950 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
22952 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
22954 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
22955 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
22956 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
22959 @item gnus-use-full-window
22960 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
22961 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
22962 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
22963 want to read them anyway.
22965 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
22966 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
22970 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
22971 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
22972 lines, which might save some time.
22976 @node Little Disk Space
22977 @subsection Little Disk Space
22980 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
22981 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
22985 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
22986 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
22987 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
22988 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
22991 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
22992 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
22993 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
22994 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
22997 @item gnus-save-killed-list
22998 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
22999 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
23000 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
23001 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
23007 @subsection Slow Machine
23008 @cindex slow machine
23010 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
23011 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
23013 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
23014 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
23016 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
23017 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
23018 summary buffer faster.
23022 @node Troubleshooting
23023 @section Troubleshooting
23024 @cindex troubleshooting
23026 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
23034 Make sure your computer is switched on.
23037 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
23038 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
23042 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
23043 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
23044 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
23045 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
23048 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
23052 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
23053 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
23054 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
23055 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
23056 something like that.
23059 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
23062 @cindex reporting bugs
23064 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
23066 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
23067 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
23068 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
23069 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
23071 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
23072 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
23073 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
23074 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
23077 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
23078 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
23079 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
23080 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
23081 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
23082 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
23084 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
23085 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
23086 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
23090 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
23091 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
23093 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
23094 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
23096 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
23097 @cindex ding mailing list
23098 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
23099 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
23103 @node Gnus Reference Guide
23104 @section Gnus Reference Guide
23106 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
23107 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
23108 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
23109 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
23112 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
23113 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
23114 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
23115 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
23116 and general methods of operation.
23119 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
23120 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
23121 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
23122 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
23123 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
23124 * Group Info:: The group info format.
23125 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
23126 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
23127 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
23131 @node Gnus Utility Functions
23132 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
23133 @cindex Gnus utility functions
23134 @cindex utility functions
23136 @cindex internal variables
23138 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
23139 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
23140 Below is a list of the most common ones.
23144 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
23145 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
23146 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
23148 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
23149 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
23150 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
23152 @item gnus-group-real-name
23153 @findex gnus-group-real-name
23154 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
23157 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
23158 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
23159 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
23160 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
23162 @item gnus-get-info
23163 @findex gnus-get-info
23164 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
23166 @item gnus-group-unread
23167 @findex gnus-group-unread
23168 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
23172 @findex gnus-active
23173 The active entry for @var{group}.
23175 @item gnus-set-active
23176 @findex gnus-set-active
23177 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
23179 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23180 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23181 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
23184 @item gnus-continuum-version
23185 @findex gnus-continuum-version
23186 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
23187 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
23190 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
23191 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
23192 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
23194 @item gnus-news-group-p
23195 @findex gnus-news-group-p
23196 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
23198 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23199 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23200 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
23202 @item gnus-server-to-method
23203 @findex gnus-server-to-method
23204 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
23206 @item gnus-server-equal
23207 @findex gnus-server-equal
23208 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
23210 @item gnus-group-native-p
23211 @findex gnus-group-native-p
23212 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
23214 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
23215 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
23216 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
23218 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
23219 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
23220 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
23222 @item group-group-find-parameter
23223 @findex group-group-find-parameter
23224 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
23225 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
23227 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
23228 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
23229 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
23231 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
23232 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
23233 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
23235 @item gnus-check-backend-function
23236 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
23237 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
23238 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
23241 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
23245 @item gnus-read-method
23246 @findex gnus-read-method
23247 Prompts the user for a select method.
23252 @node Back End Interface
23253 @subsection Back End Interface
23255 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
23256 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
23257 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
23258 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
23259 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
23260 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
23262 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
23263 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
23264 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
23265 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
23266 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
23267 been opened, the function should fail.
23269 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
23270 name. Take this example:
23274 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
23275 (nntp-port-number 4324))
23278 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
23279 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
23281 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
23282 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
23283 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
23285 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
23286 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
23287 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
23289 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
23290 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
23291 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
23292 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
23293 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
23294 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
23297 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
23298 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
23299 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
23300 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
23303 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
23304 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
23305 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
23306 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
23307 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
23308 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
23309 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
23310 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
23311 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
23312 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
23314 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
23315 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
23316 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
23317 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
23318 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
23319 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
23320 of numbers as long as possible.
23322 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
23325 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
23328 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
23329 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
23330 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
23331 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
23332 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
23333 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
23337 @node Required Back End Functions
23338 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
23342 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
23344 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
23345 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
23346 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
23347 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
23349 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
23350 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
23351 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
23352 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
23354 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
23355 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
23356 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
23357 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
23358 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
23359 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
23360 number, do maximum fetches.
23362 Here's an example HEAD:
23365 221 1056 Article retrieved.
23366 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
23367 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
23368 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
23369 Subject: Re: Something very droll
23370 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
23371 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
23373 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
23374 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
23375 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
23379 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
23380 these in the data buffer.
23382 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
23386 head = error / valid-head
23387 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
23388 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
23389 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
23390 header = <text> eol
23393 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
23394 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
23398 nov-buffer = *nov-line
23399 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
23400 field = <text except TAB>
23403 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
23407 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
23409 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
23410 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
23412 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
23413 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
23414 server. In fact, it should do so.
23416 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
23417 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
23420 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
23422 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
23423 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
23426 There should be no data returned.
23429 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
23431 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
23432 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
23433 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
23434 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
23436 There should be no data returned.
23439 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
23441 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
23442 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
23443 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
23444 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
23446 There should be no data returned.
23449 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
23451 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
23453 There should be no data returned.
23456 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
23458 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
23459 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
23460 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
23461 it would be nice if that were possible.
23463 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
23464 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
23465 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
23466 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
23467 into its article buffer.
23469 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
23470 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
23471 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
23472 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
23473 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
23474 on successful article retrieval.
23477 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
23479 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
23480 making @var{group} the current group.
23482 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
23485 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
23488 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
23491 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
23492 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
23493 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
23494 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
23495 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
23496 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
23497 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
23498 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
23499 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
23503 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
23504 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
23505 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
23509 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23511 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
23512 a no-op on most back ends.
23514 There should be no data returned.
23517 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
23519 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
23522 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
23525 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
23526 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
23529 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
23530 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
23531 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
23532 and the highest as 0.
23535 active-file = *active-line
23536 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
23538 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
23541 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
23542 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
23543 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
23546 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
23548 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
23549 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
23550 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
23551 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
23552 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
23553 clear if the posting could not be completed.
23555 There should be no result data from this function.
23560 @node Optional Back End Functions
23561 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
23565 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
23567 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
23568 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
23569 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
23571 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
23572 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
23573 former is in the same format as the data from
23574 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
23575 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
23578 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
23582 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
23584 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
23585 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
23586 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
23587 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
23588 should return the (altered) group info.
23590 There should be no result data from this function.
23593 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
23595 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
23596 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
23597 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
23598 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
23599 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
23600 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
23601 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
23602 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
23604 There should be no result data from this function.
23607 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
23609 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
23610 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
23611 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
23612 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
23613 propagate the mark information to the server.
23615 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
23618 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
23621 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
23622 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
23623 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
23624 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
23625 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
23626 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
23627 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
23628 possible, not limit itself to these.
23630 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
23631 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
23632 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
23633 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
23635 An example action list:
23638 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
23639 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
23640 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
23643 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
23644 mark on (currently not used for anything).
23646 There should be no result data from this function.
23648 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
23650 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
23651 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
23652 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
23653 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
23654 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
23656 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
23657 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
23658 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
23661 There should be no result data from this function.
23664 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
23666 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
23667 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
23668 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
23669 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
23670 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
23671 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
23672 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
23674 There should be no result data from this function.
23677 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
23679 The result data from this function should be a description of
23683 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
23685 description = <text>
23688 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
23690 The result data from this function should be the description of all
23691 groups available on the server.
23694 description-buffer = *description-line
23698 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
23700 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
23701 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
23702 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
23703 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
23704 in the active buffer format.
23706 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
23707 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
23708 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
23709 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
23710 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
23711 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
23712 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
23715 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23717 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
23719 There should be no return data.
23722 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
23724 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
23725 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
23726 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
23727 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
23728 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
23731 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
23734 There should be no result data returned.
23737 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
23740 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
23741 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
23743 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
23744 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
23745 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
23746 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
23747 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
23748 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
23750 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
23751 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
23754 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23755 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23757 There should be no data returned.
23760 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
23762 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
23763 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
23764 this function in short order.
23766 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23767 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23769 There should be no data returned.
23772 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
23774 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
23775 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
23777 There should be no data returned.
23780 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
23782 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
23783 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
23784 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
23786 There should be no data returned.
23789 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
23791 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
23792 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
23794 There should be no data returned.
23799 @node Error Messaging
23800 @subsubsection Error Messaging
23802 @findex nnheader-report
23803 @findex nnheader-get-report
23804 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
23805 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
23806 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
23807 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
23808 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
23809 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
23812 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
23814 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
23817 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
23818 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
23819 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
23820 takes one argument---the server symbol.
23822 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
23823 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
23824 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
23827 @node Writing New Back Ends
23828 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
23830 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
23831 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
23832 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
23833 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
23834 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
23837 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
23838 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
23839 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
23841 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
23842 package called @code{nnoo}.
23844 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
23845 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
23851 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
23852 parameters. For instance:
23855 (nnoo-declare nndir
23859 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
23860 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
23863 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
23864 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
23865 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
23867 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
23868 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
23869 a function in those back ends.
23872 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
23873 "Where nndir will look for groups."
23874 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
23877 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
23878 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
23879 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
23881 @item nnoo-define-basics
23882 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
23886 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
23890 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
23891 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
23892 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
23894 @item nnoo-map-functions
23895 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
23896 functions from the parent back ends.
23899 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
23900 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
23901 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
23904 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
23905 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
23906 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
23907 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
23910 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
23911 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
23912 haven't already been defined.
23918 nnmh-request-newgroups)
23922 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
23923 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
23924 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
23929 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
23932 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
23933 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
23937 (require 'nnheader)
23941 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
23943 (nnoo-declare nndir
23946 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
23947 "Where nndir will look for groups."
23948 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
23950 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
23951 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
23954 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
23956 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
23957 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
23958 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
23960 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
23961 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
23963 ;;; Interface functions.
23965 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
23967 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
23968 (setq nndir-directory
23969 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
23971 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
23972 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
23973 (push `(nndir-current-group
23974 ,(file-name-nondirectory
23975 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
23977 (push `(nndir-top-directory
23978 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
23980 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
23982 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
23983 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
23984 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
23985 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
23986 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
23990 nnmh-status-message
23992 nnmh-request-newgroups))
23998 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
23999 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
24001 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
24002 @findex gnus-declare-backend
24003 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
24004 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
24005 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
24007 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
24008 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
24013 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
24016 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
24018 The abilities can be:
24022 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
24024 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
24026 This back end supports both mail and news.
24028 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
24031 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
24032 articles and groups.
24034 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
24035 true for almost all back ends.
24036 @item prompt-address
24037 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
24038 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
24039 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
24043 @node Mail-like Back Ends
24044 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
24046 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
24047 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
24048 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
24049 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
24052 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
24053 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
24054 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
24057 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
24058 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
24061 This function takes four parameters.
24065 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
24068 @item exit-function
24069 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
24071 @item temp-directory
24072 Where the temporary files should be stored.
24075 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
24076 performed for one group only.
24079 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
24080 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
24081 find the article number assigned to this article.
24083 The function also uses the following variables:
24084 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
24085 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
24086 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
24087 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
24091 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
24092 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
24096 @node Score File Syntax
24097 @subsection Score File Syntax
24099 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
24100 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
24101 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
24103 Here's a typical score file:
24107 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
24114 BNF definition of a score file:
24117 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
24118 element = rule / atom
24119 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
24120 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
24121 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
24122 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
24124 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
24125 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
24126 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
24127 date-header = "date"
24128 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24129 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24130 score = "nil" / <integer>
24131 date = "nil" / <natural number>
24132 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
24133 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
24134 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
24135 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
24136 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24137 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24138 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
24139 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24140 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
24141 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
24142 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
24143 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
24144 exclude-files / read-only / touched
24145 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
24146 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
24147 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
24148 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
24149 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
24150 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
24151 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
24152 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
24153 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
24154 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
24155 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
24156 eval = "eval" space <form>
24157 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
24160 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
24163 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
24164 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
24165 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
24166 one looong line, then that's ok.
24168 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
24169 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24173 @subsection Headers
24175 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
24176 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
24177 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
24178 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
24180 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
24181 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
24182 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
24183 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
24184 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
24185 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
24186 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
24188 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
24189 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
24190 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
24191 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
24192 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
24194 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
24195 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
24201 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
24202 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
24204 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
24205 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
24206 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
24207 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
24209 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
24213 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
24216 is transformed into
24219 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
24222 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
24223 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
24226 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
24229 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
24230 is slightly tricky:
24233 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
24239 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
24242 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
24248 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
24255 and is equal to the previous range.
24257 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
24258 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
24259 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
24263 range = simple-range / normal-range
24264 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
24265 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
24266 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
24267 number *[ " " contents ]
24270 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
24271 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
24272 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
24273 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
24274 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
24279 @subsection Group Info
24281 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
24282 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
24283 describes the group.
24285 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
24286 second is a more complex one:
24289 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
24291 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
24292 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
24294 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
24297 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
24298 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
24299 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
24300 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
24301 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
24302 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
24303 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
24304 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
24305 this section is about.
24307 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
24308 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
24309 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
24311 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
24314 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
24315 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
24316 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24317 group = quote <string> quote
24318 ralevel = rank / level
24319 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24320 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
24321 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24323 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
24324 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
24325 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
24326 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
24329 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
24330 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
24333 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
24334 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
24337 @item gnus-info-group
24338 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
24339 @findex gnus-info-group
24340 @findex gnus-info-set-group
24341 Get/set the group name.
24343 @item gnus-info-rank
24344 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
24345 @findex gnus-info-rank
24346 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
24347 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
24349 @item gnus-info-level
24350 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
24351 @findex gnus-info-level
24352 @findex gnus-info-set-level
24353 Get/set the group level.
24355 @item gnus-info-score
24356 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
24357 @findex gnus-info-score
24358 @findex gnus-info-set-score
24359 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
24361 @item gnus-info-read
24362 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
24363 @findex gnus-info-read
24364 @findex gnus-info-set-read
24365 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
24367 @item gnus-info-marks
24368 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
24369 @findex gnus-info-marks
24370 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
24371 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
24373 @item gnus-info-method
24374 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
24375 @findex gnus-info-method
24376 @findex gnus-info-set-method
24377 Get/set the group select method.
24379 @item gnus-info-params
24380 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
24381 @findex gnus-info-params
24382 @findex gnus-info-set-params
24383 Get/set the group parameters.
24386 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
24387 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
24389 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
24390 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
24391 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
24392 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
24395 @node Extended Interactive
24396 @subsection Extended Interactive
24397 @cindex interactive
24398 @findex gnus-interactive
24400 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
24401 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
24402 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
24405 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
24406 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
24411 The best thing to do would have been to implement
24412 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
24413 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
24414 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
24415 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
24416 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
24417 @code{interactive}.
24419 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
24424 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
24425 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
24429 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
24430 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
24431 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
24434 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
24438 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
24442 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
24448 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
24449 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
24453 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
24454 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
24455 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
24457 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
24458 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
24459 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
24460 Gnus, that's very useful.
24462 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
24463 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
24464 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
24465 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
24466 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
24467 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
24468 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
24469 following function:
24472 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
24476 (,function ,@@args))
24480 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
24481 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
24482 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
24485 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
24486 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
24487 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
24489 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
24490 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
24491 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
24494 @node Various File Formats
24495 @subsection Various File Formats
24498 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
24499 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
24503 @node Active File Format
24504 @subsubsection Active File Format
24506 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
24507 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
24510 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
24513 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
24514 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
24515 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
24516 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
24517 no.general 1000 900 y
24520 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
24523 active = *group-line
24524 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
24525 group = <non-white-space string>
24527 high-number = <non-negative integer>
24528 low-number = <positive integer>
24529 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
24532 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
24533 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
24536 @node Newsgroups File Format
24537 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
24539 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
24540 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
24541 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
24544 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
24545 Here's the definition:
24549 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
24550 group = <non-white-space string>
24552 description = <string>
24557 @node Emacs for Heathens
24558 @section Emacs for Heathens
24560 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
24561 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
24562 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
24563 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
24564 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
24565 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
24566 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
24570 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
24571 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
24576 @subsection Keystrokes
24580 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
24583 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
24586 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
24587 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
24588 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
24589 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
24590 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
24591 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
24593 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
24594 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
24595 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
24596 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
24597 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
24598 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
24599 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
24601 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
24602 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
24603 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
24604 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
24605 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
24606 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
24607 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
24609 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
24610 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
24611 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
24612 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
24613 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
24619 @subsection Emacs Lisp
24621 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
24622 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
24623 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
24624 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
24626 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
24627 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
24628 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
24629 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
24630 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
24631 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
24632 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
24635 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
24636 write the following:
24639 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
24642 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
24643 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
24644 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
24647 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
24648 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
24649 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
24650 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
24651 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
24653 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
24654 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
24655 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
24659 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
24663 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
24666 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
24667 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
24670 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
24673 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
24674 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
24677 @include gnus-faq.texi
24697 @c Local Variables:
24699 @c coding: iso-8859-1
24701 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
24702 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
24703 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
24704 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
24705 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref