10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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282 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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291 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
292 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
295 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
296 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
297 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
298 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
299 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
300 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
301 License'' in the Emacs manual.
303 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
304 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
305 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
307 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
308 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
309 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
310 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
318 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
320 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
321 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
323 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
324 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
325 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
326 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
327 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
328 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
329 License'' in the Emacs manual.
331 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
332 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
333 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
335 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
336 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
337 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
338 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
346 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
349 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
350 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
351 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
353 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
354 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
355 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
356 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
357 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
358 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
359 License'' in the Emacs manual.
361 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
362 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
363 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
365 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
366 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
367 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
368 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
377 @top The Gnus Newsreader
381 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
382 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
383 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
386 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v0.07.
397 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
398 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
400 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
401 being accused of plagiarism:
403 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
404 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
405 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
406 can even read news with it!
408 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
409 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
410 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
411 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
412 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
418 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
419 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
420 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
421 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
422 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
423 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
424 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
425 * Various:: General purpose settings.
426 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
427 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
428 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
429 * Key Index:: Key Index.
432 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
436 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
437 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
438 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
439 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
440 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
441 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
442 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
443 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
444 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
445 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
446 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
450 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
451 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
452 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
456 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
457 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
458 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
459 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
460 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
461 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
462 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
463 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
464 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
465 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
466 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
467 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
468 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
469 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
470 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
471 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
472 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
476 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
477 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
478 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
482 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
483 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
484 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
485 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
486 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
490 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
491 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
492 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
493 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
494 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
498 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
499 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
500 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
501 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
502 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
503 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
504 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
505 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
506 * Threading:: How threads are made.
507 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
508 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
509 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
510 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
511 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
512 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
513 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
514 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
515 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
516 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
517 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
518 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
519 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
520 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
521 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
522 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
523 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
524 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
525 or reselecting the current group.
526 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
527 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
528 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
529 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
531 Summary Buffer Format
533 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
534 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
535 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
536 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
540 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
541 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
543 Reply, Followup and Post
545 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
546 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
547 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
548 * Canceling and Superseding::
552 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
553 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
554 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
556 * Generic Marking Commands::
557 * Setting Process Marks::
561 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
562 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
563 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
567 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
568 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
570 Customizing Threading
572 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
573 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
574 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
575 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
579 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
580 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
581 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
582 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
583 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
584 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
588 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
589 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
590 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
594 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
595 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
596 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
597 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
598 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
599 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
600 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
601 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
602 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
603 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
605 Alternative Approaches
607 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
608 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
610 Various Summary Stuff
612 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
613 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
614 * Summary Generation Commands::
615 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
619 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
620 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
621 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
622 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
623 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
627 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
628 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
629 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
630 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
631 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
632 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
633 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
634 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
638 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
639 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
640 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
641 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
642 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
643 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
644 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
645 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
649 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
650 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
651 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
652 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
653 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
654 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
655 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
659 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
660 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
664 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
665 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
666 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
670 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
671 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
672 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
673 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
674 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
675 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
676 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
677 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
678 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
679 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
680 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
681 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
682 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
686 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
687 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
688 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
690 Choosing a Mail Back End
692 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
693 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
694 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
695 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
696 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
697 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
702 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
703 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
704 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
705 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
706 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
707 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
711 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
712 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
713 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
714 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
718 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
719 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
720 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
721 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
722 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
726 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
730 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
731 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
732 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
736 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
737 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
741 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
742 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
743 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
744 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
745 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
746 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
747 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
748 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
749 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
750 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
751 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
755 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
756 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
757 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
761 * Group Agent Commands::
762 * Summary Agent Commands::
763 * Server Agent Commands::
767 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
768 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
769 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
770 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
771 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
772 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
773 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
774 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
775 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
776 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
777 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
778 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
779 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
780 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
781 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
782 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
783 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
787 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
788 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
789 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
790 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
794 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
795 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
796 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
800 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
801 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
802 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
803 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
804 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
805 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
806 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
807 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
808 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
809 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
810 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
811 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
812 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
813 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
814 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
815 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
816 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
817 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
818 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
822 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
823 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
824 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
825 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
826 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
827 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
828 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
829 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
833 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
834 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
835 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
836 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
837 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
841 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
842 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
843 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
844 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
845 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
849 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
850 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
851 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
855 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
856 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
857 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
858 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
859 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
860 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
861 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
862 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
863 * Frequently Asked Questions::
867 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
868 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
869 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
870 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
871 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
872 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
873 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
874 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
875 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
879 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
880 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
881 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
882 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
883 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
887 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
888 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
889 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
890 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
894 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
895 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
896 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
897 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
898 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
899 * Group Info:: The group info format.
900 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
901 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
902 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
906 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
907 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
908 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
909 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
910 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
911 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
915 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
916 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
920 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
921 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
927 @chapter Starting Gnus
932 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
933 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
936 @findex gnus-other-frame
937 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
938 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
939 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
941 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
942 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
943 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
945 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
946 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
949 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
950 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
951 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
952 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
953 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
954 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
955 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
956 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
957 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
958 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
959 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
963 @node Finding the News
964 @section Finding the News
967 @vindex gnus-select-method
969 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
970 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
971 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
972 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
975 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
976 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
979 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
982 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
985 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
988 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
989 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
990 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
992 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
994 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
995 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
996 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
997 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
998 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
999 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1001 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1002 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1003 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1004 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1006 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1007 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1008 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1009 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1010 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1011 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1012 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1013 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1014 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1017 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1019 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1020 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1021 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1022 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1023 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1024 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1026 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1028 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1029 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1030 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1031 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1032 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1033 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1036 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1037 you would typically set this variable to
1040 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1044 @node The First Time
1045 @section The First Time
1046 @cindex first time usage
1048 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1049 be subscribed by default.
1051 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1052 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1053 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1054 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1057 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1058 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1059 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1061 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1062 help you with most common problems.
1064 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1065 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1069 @node The Server is Down
1070 @section The Server is Down
1071 @cindex server errors
1073 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1074 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1075 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1077 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1078 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1079 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1080 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1081 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1082 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1083 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1085 @findex gnus-no-server
1086 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1088 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1089 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1090 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1091 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1092 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1093 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1094 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1098 @section Slave Gnusae
1101 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1102 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1103 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1104 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1106 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1107 @code{.newsrc} file.
1109 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1110 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1111 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1112 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1113 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1114 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1115 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1117 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1118 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1119 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1120 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1121 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1122 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1123 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1124 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1126 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1127 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1129 If the @code{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1130 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1131 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1132 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1133 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1135 @node Fetching a Group
1136 @section Fetching a Group
1137 @cindex fetching a group
1139 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1140 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1141 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1142 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1143 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1144 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1150 @cindex subscription
1152 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1153 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1154 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1155 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1156 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1157 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1158 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1159 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1160 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1163 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1164 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1165 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1169 @node Checking New Groups
1170 @subsection Checking New Groups
1172 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1173 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1174 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1175 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1176 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1177 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1178 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1179 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1180 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1181 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1183 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1184 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1185 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1186 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1187 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1188 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1189 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1190 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1191 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1192 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1193 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1195 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1196 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1197 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1198 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1199 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1200 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1203 @node Subscription Methods
1204 @subsection Subscription Methods
1206 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1207 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1208 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1210 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1211 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1213 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1217 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1218 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1219 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1220 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1221 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1223 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1224 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1225 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1226 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1228 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1229 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1230 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1232 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1233 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1234 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1235 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1236 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1237 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1238 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1239 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1240 up. Or something like that.
1242 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1243 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1244 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1245 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1246 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1248 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1249 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1250 Kill all new groups.
1252 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1253 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1254 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1255 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1256 topic parameter that looks like
1262 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1265 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1270 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1271 A closely related variable is
1272 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1273 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1274 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1275 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1278 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1279 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1280 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1281 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1284 @node Filtering New Groups
1285 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1287 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1288 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1289 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1292 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1295 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1296 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1297 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1298 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1299 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1300 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1301 subscribing these groups.
1302 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1303 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1305 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1306 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1307 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1308 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1309 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1310 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1311 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1312 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1314 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1315 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1316 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1317 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1318 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1319 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1320 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1321 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1322 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1323 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1326 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1327 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1330 @node Changing Servers
1331 @section Changing Servers
1332 @cindex changing servers
1334 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1335 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1336 very flaky and you want to use another.
1338 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1339 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1343 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1344 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1345 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1346 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1349 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1350 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1351 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1352 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1354 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1355 @findex gnus-change-server
1356 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1357 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1358 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1359 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1360 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1362 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1363 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1364 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1365 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1366 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1368 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1369 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1370 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1371 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1372 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1373 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1375 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1376 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1377 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1378 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1380 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1381 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1382 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1383 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1384 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1385 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1386 cache for all groups).
1390 @section Startup Files
1391 @cindex startup files
1396 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1397 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1399 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1400 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1401 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1402 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1403 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1404 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1405 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1407 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1408 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1409 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1410 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1411 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1412 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1414 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1415 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1416 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1417 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1418 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1419 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1420 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1421 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1422 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1423 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1425 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1426 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1427 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1428 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1429 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1430 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1431 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1432 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1433 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1434 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1435 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1436 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1438 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1439 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1440 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1441 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1443 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1444 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1445 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1446 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1447 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1448 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1449 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1450 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1451 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1452 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1455 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1456 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1458 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1459 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1462 @vindex gnus-init-file
1463 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1464 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1465 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1466 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1467 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1468 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1469 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1470 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1471 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1477 @cindex dribble file
1480 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1481 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1482 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1483 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1484 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1487 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1488 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1491 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1492 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1493 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1495 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1496 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1497 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1498 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1499 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1500 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1502 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1503 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1504 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1507 @node The Active File
1508 @section The Active File
1510 @cindex ignored groups
1512 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1513 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1514 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1516 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1517 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1518 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1519 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1520 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1521 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1522 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1525 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1526 @c if you set it to anything else.
1528 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1530 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1531 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1532 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1534 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1535 you actually subscribe to.
1537 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1538 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1539 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1540 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1542 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1543 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1544 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1545 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1546 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1547 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1549 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1550 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1551 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1554 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1555 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1556 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1557 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1558 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1559 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1561 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1562 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1564 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1565 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1567 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1568 secondary select methods.
1571 @node Startup Variables
1572 @section Startup Variables
1576 @item gnus-load-hook
1577 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1578 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1579 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1580 times you start Gnus.
1582 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1583 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1584 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1586 @item gnus-startup-hook
1587 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1588 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1590 @item gnus-started-hook
1591 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1592 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1595 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1596 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1597 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1598 generating the group buffer.
1600 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1601 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1602 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1603 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1604 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1605 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1606 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1607 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1609 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1610 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1611 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1612 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1613 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1614 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1616 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1617 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1618 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1620 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1621 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1622 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1624 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1625 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1626 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1627 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1633 @chapter Group Buffer
1634 @cindex group buffer
1636 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1638 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1639 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1640 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1641 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1642 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1643 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1644 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1645 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1646 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1647 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1648 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1649 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1650 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1651 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1652 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1653 @c human rights at 9...
1656 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1657 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1658 long as Gnus is active.
1662 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1663 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1664 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1665 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1666 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1667 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1668 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1669 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1675 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1676 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1677 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1678 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1679 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1680 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1681 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1682 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1683 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1684 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1685 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1686 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1687 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1688 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1689 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1690 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1691 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1695 @node Group Buffer Format
1696 @section Group Buffer Format
1699 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1700 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1701 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1705 @node Group Line Specification
1706 @subsection Group Line Specification
1707 @cindex group buffer format
1709 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1710 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1712 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1715 25: news.announce.newusers
1716 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1721 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1722 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1723 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1724 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1726 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1727 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1728 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1729 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1730 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1731 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1733 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1735 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1736 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1737 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1738 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1739 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1741 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1742 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1743 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1745 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1750 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1753 Whether the group is subscribed.
1756 Level of subscribedness.
1759 Number of unread articles.
1762 Number of dormant articles.
1765 Number of ticked articles.
1768 Number of read articles.
1771 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1772 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1774 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1775 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1776 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1777 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1778 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1779 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1780 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1781 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1784 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1787 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1796 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1797 comment element in the group parameters.
1800 Newsgroup description.
1803 @samp{m} if moderated.
1806 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1815 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1819 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1822 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1823 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1824 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1825 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1826 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1829 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1831 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1835 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1838 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1842 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1843 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1844 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1845 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1846 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1847 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1852 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1853 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1854 group, or a bogus native group.
1857 @node Group Modeline Specification
1858 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1859 @cindex group modeline
1861 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1862 The mode line can be changed by setting
1863 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1864 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1868 The native news server.
1870 The native select method.
1874 @node Group Highlighting
1875 @subsection Group Highlighting
1876 @cindex highlighting
1877 @cindex group highlighting
1879 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1880 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1881 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1882 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1883 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1885 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1889 (cond (window-system
1890 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1891 (defface my-group-face-1
1892 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1893 (defface my-group-face-2
1894 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1895 (defface my-group-face-3
1896 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1897 (defface my-group-face-4
1898 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1899 (defface my-group-face-5
1900 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1902 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1903 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1904 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1905 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1906 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1907 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1910 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1912 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1919 The number of unread articles in the group.
1923 Whether the group is a mail group.
1925 The level of the group.
1927 The score of the group.
1929 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1931 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1932 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1934 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1935 topic being inserted.
1938 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1939 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1940 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1942 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1943 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1944 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1945 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1946 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1949 @node Group Maneuvering
1950 @section Group Maneuvering
1951 @cindex group movement
1953 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1954 expected, hopefully.
1960 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1961 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1962 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1968 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1969 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1970 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1974 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1975 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1979 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1980 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1984 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1985 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1986 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1990 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1991 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1992 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1995 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2001 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2002 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2003 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2008 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2009 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2010 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2014 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2015 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2016 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2019 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2020 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2021 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2022 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2026 @node Selecting a Group
2027 @section Selecting a Group
2028 @cindex group selection
2033 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2034 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2035 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2036 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2037 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2038 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2039 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2040 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2041 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2042 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2044 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2045 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2046 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2048 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2049 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2054 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2055 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2056 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2057 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2058 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2062 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2063 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2064 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2065 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2066 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2067 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2068 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2069 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2070 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2071 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2074 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2075 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2076 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2077 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2078 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2081 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2082 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2083 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2084 doing any processing of its contents
2085 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2086 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2087 manner will have no permanent effects.
2091 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2092 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2093 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2094 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2095 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2096 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2097 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2098 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2101 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2102 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2103 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2104 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2105 Which article this is is controlled by the
2106 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2112 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2115 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2118 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2120 @item unseen-or-unread
2121 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2122 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2126 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2130 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2131 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2133 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2134 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2135 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2136 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2140 @node Subscription Commands
2141 @section Subscription Commands
2142 @cindex subscription
2150 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2151 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2152 Toggle subscription to the current group
2153 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2159 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2160 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2161 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2162 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2168 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2169 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2170 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2176 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2177 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2180 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2181 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2182 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2183 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2184 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2190 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2191 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2195 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2196 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2199 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2200 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2201 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2202 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2203 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2204 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2205 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2206 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2207 @file{.newsrc} file.
2211 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2221 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2222 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2223 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2224 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2225 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2226 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2231 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2232 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2233 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2237 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2238 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2239 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2241 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2242 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2243 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2244 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2245 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2246 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2253 @section Group Levels
2257 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2258 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2259 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2260 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2261 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2263 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2269 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2270 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2271 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2272 prompted for a level.
2275 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2276 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2277 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2278 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2279 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2280 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2281 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2282 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2283 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2284 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2285 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2286 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2287 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2288 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2289 reasons of efficiency.
2291 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2292 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2294 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2295 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2296 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2297 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2298 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2299 groups are hidden, in a way.
2301 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2302 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2303 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2304 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2305 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2306 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2308 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2309 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2310 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2311 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2312 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2313 list of killed groups.)
2315 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2316 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2317 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2319 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2320 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2321 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2322 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2323 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2324 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2325 relevant valid ranges.
2327 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2328 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2329 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2330 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2331 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2332 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2335 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2336 one with the best level.
2338 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2339 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2340 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2343 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2344 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2345 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2346 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2349 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2350 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2351 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2352 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2354 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2355 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2356 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2357 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2358 to 5. The default is 6.
2362 @section Group Score
2367 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2368 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2369 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2372 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2373 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2374 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2375 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2376 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2377 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2378 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2379 least significant part.))
2381 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2382 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2383 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2384 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2385 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2386 action after each summary exit, you can add
2387 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2388 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2389 slow things down somewhat.
2392 @node Marking Groups
2393 @section Marking Groups
2394 @cindex marking groups
2396 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2397 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2398 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2399 bidding on those groups.
2401 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2402 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2403 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2411 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2412 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2418 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2419 Remove the mark from the current group
2420 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2424 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2425 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2429 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2430 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2434 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2435 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2439 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2440 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2441 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2444 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2446 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2447 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2448 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2449 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2450 the command to be executed.
2453 @node Foreign Groups
2454 @section Foreign Groups
2455 @cindex foreign groups
2457 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2458 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2459 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2460 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2467 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2468 @cindex making groups
2469 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2470 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2471 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2475 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2476 @cindex renaming groups
2477 Rename the current group to something else
2478 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2479 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2485 @findex gnus-group-customize
2486 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2490 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2491 @cindex renaming groups
2492 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2493 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2497 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2498 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2499 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2503 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2504 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2505 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2509 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2511 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2512 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2517 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2518 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2522 @cindex (ding) archive
2523 @cindex archive group
2524 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2525 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2526 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2527 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2528 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2529 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2530 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2534 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2536 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2537 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2538 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2539 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2543 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2545 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2546 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2547 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2551 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2552 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2554 Make a group based on some file or other
2555 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2556 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2557 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2558 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2559 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2560 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2561 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2562 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2563 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2567 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2568 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2569 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2570 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2574 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2578 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2579 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2580 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2581 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2582 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2583 @xref{Web Searches}.
2585 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2586 to a particular group by using a match string like
2587 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2590 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2591 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2592 This function will delete the current group
2593 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2594 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2595 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2596 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2597 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2601 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2602 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2603 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2607 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2608 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2609 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2612 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2615 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2616 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2617 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2618 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2619 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2620 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2624 @node Group Parameters
2625 @section Group Parameters
2626 @cindex group parameters
2628 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2629 Here's an example group parameter list:
2632 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2636 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2637 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2638 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2639 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2641 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2642 is an alist of regexps and values.
2644 The following group parameters can be used:
2649 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2652 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2655 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2656 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2657 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2658 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2659 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2661 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2662 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2663 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2664 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2665 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2666 list address instead.
2668 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2672 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2675 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2678 It is totally ignored
2679 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2680 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2682 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2683 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2684 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2685 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2686 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2688 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2689 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2690 sending the message.
2692 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2693 @cindex Mail List Groups
2694 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2695 entering summary buffer.
2697 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2702 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2703 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2704 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2705 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2706 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2707 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2709 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2710 directly uses this group parameter.
2714 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2715 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2716 of whether it has any unread articles.
2718 @item broken-reply-to
2719 @cindex broken-reply-to
2720 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2721 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2722 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2723 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2724 broken behavior. So there!
2728 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2729 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2733 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2734 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2735 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2740 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2741 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2742 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2743 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2744 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2745 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2746 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2747 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2748 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept artciles.
2752 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2753 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2754 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2756 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2759 @cindex total-expire
2760 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2761 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2762 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2763 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2766 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2770 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2771 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2772 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2773 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2774 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2775 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2778 @cindex score file group parameter
2779 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2780 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2781 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2784 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2785 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2786 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2787 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2790 @cindex admin-address
2791 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2792 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2793 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2794 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2798 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2799 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2803 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2806 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2807 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2810 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2814 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2816 Here are some examples:
2820 Display only unread articles.
2823 Display everything except expirable articles.
2825 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2826 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2830 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2831 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2832 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2833 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2834 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2838 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2839 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2840 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2844 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2845 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2846 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2850 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2851 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2852 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2854 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2856 @item ignored-charsets
2857 @cindex ignored-charset
2858 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2859 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2860 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2862 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2865 @cindex posting-style
2866 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2867 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2868 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2869 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2870 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2872 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2873 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2874 like this in the group parameters:
2879 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2884 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2885 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2889 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2890 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2891 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2892 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2893 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2897 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2898 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2899 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2900 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2902 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2903 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2904 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2905 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2908 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2909 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2913 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2916 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2917 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2918 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2919 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2920 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2921 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2922 @code{eval}ed there.
2924 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2925 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2926 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2927 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2928 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2929 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2930 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2931 parameters for the group.
2934 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2935 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2936 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2937 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2938 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2942 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2943 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2944 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2945 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2946 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2948 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2949 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2953 (setq gnus-parameters
2955 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2956 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2957 (gnus-summary-line-format
2958 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2962 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2966 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2970 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2973 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2974 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2977 @node Listing Groups
2978 @section Listing Groups
2979 @cindex group listing
2981 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2989 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2990 List all groups that have unread articles
2991 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2992 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2993 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2994 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3001 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3002 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3003 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3004 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3005 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3006 unsubscribed groups).
3010 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3011 List all unread groups on a specific level
3012 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3013 with no unread articles.
3017 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3018 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3019 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3020 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3025 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3026 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3030 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3031 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3032 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3036 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3037 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3041 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3042 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3043 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3044 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3045 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3046 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3047 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3048 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3052 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3053 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3054 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3058 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3059 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3060 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3064 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3065 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3069 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3070 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3074 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3075 List groups limited within the current selection
3076 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3080 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3081 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3085 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3086 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3090 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3091 @cindex visible group parameter
3092 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3093 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3094 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3095 get the same effect.
3097 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3098 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3099 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3100 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3101 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3104 @node Sorting Groups
3105 @section Sorting Groups
3106 @cindex sorting groups
3108 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3109 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3110 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3111 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3112 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3113 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3118 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3119 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3120 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3122 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3123 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3124 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3126 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3127 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3128 Sort by group level.
3130 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3131 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3132 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3134 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3135 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3136 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3137 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3139 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3140 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3141 Sort by number of unread articles.
3143 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3144 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3145 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3147 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3148 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3149 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3154 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3155 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3159 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3160 some sorting criteria:
3164 @kindex G S a (Group)
3165 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3166 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3167 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3170 @kindex G S u (Group)
3171 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3172 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3173 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3176 @kindex G S l (Group)
3177 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3178 Sort the group buffer by group level
3179 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3182 @kindex G S v (Group)
3183 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3184 Sort the group buffer by group score
3185 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3188 @kindex G S r (Group)
3189 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3190 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3191 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3194 @kindex G S m (Group)
3195 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3196 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3197 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3201 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3202 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3204 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3205 commands will sort in reverse order.
3207 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3211 @kindex G P a (Group)
3212 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3213 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3214 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3217 @kindex G P u (Group)
3218 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3219 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3220 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3223 @kindex G P l (Group)
3224 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3225 Sort the groups by group level
3226 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3229 @kindex G P v (Group)
3230 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3231 Sort the groups by group score
3232 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3235 @kindex G P r (Group)
3236 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3237 Sort the groups by group rank
3238 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3241 @kindex G P m (Group)
3242 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3243 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3244 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3247 @kindex G P s (Group)
3248 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3249 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3253 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3257 @node Group Maintenance
3258 @section Group Maintenance
3259 @cindex bogus groups
3264 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3265 Find bogus groups and delete them
3266 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3270 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3271 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3272 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3273 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3274 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3278 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3279 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3280 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3281 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3282 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3283 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3286 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3287 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3288 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3289 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3294 @node Browse Foreign Server
3295 @section Browse Foreign Server
3296 @cindex foreign servers
3297 @cindex browsing servers
3302 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3303 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3304 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3305 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3308 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3309 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3310 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3311 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3313 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3318 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3319 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3323 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3324 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3327 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3328 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3329 Enter the current group and display the first article
3330 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3333 @kindex RET (Browse)
3334 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3335 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3339 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3340 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3341 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3347 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3348 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3352 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3353 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3357 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3358 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3359 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3364 @section Exiting Gnus
3365 @cindex exiting Gnus
3367 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3372 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3373 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3374 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3375 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3379 @findex gnus-group-exit
3380 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3381 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3385 @findex gnus-group-quit
3386 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3387 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3390 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3391 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3392 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3393 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3394 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3399 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3400 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3401 trying to customize meta-variables.
3406 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3407 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3408 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3414 @section Group Topics
3417 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3418 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3419 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3420 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3421 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3422 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3426 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3427 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3438 2: alt.religion.emacs
3441 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3443 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3444 13: comp.sources.unix
3447 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3449 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3450 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3451 is a toggling command.)
3453 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3454 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3455 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3456 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3459 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3460 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3461 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3464 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3468 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3469 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3470 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3471 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3472 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3476 @node Topic Commands
3477 @subsection Topic Commands
3478 @cindex topic commands
3480 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3481 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3482 definitions slightly.
3484 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3485 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3486 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3487 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3488 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3489 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3491 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3498 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3499 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3500 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3504 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3506 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3507 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3508 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3509 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3512 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3513 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3514 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3515 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3519 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3520 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3521 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3522 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3528 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3529 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3530 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3534 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3535 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3536 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3539 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3540 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3541 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3542 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3543 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3545 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3546 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3550 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3551 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3558 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3560 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3561 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3562 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3563 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3564 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3565 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3569 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3575 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3576 Move the current group to some other topic
3577 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3578 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3582 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3583 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3587 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3588 Copy the current group to some other topic
3589 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3590 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3594 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3595 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3596 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3600 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3601 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3602 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3606 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3607 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3608 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3609 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3610 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3611 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3612 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3615 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3616 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3620 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3621 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3622 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3626 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3627 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3628 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3632 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3633 Toggle hiding empty topics
3634 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3638 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3639 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3640 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3643 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3644 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3645 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3646 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3649 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3650 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3651 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3652 expiry process (if any)
3653 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3657 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3658 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3661 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3662 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3663 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3667 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3668 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3669 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3672 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3673 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3674 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3677 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3678 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3679 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3683 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3684 @cindex group parameters
3685 @cindex topic parameters
3687 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3688 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3693 @node Topic Variables
3694 @subsection Topic Variables
3695 @cindex topic variables
3697 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3698 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3700 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3701 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3702 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3715 Number of groups in the topic.
3717 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3719 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3722 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3723 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3724 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3727 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3728 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3730 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3731 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3732 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3736 @subsection Topic Sorting
3737 @cindex topic sorting
3739 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3745 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3746 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3747 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3748 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3751 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3752 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3753 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3754 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3757 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3758 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3759 Sort the current topic by group level
3760 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3763 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3764 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3765 Sort the current topic by group score
3766 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3769 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3770 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3771 Sort the current topic by group rank
3772 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3775 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3776 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3777 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3778 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3781 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3782 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3783 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3784 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3788 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3789 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3790 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3791 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3795 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3796 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3800 @node Topic Topology
3801 @subsection Topic Topology
3802 @cindex topic topology
3805 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3811 2: alt.religion.emacs
3814 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3816 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3817 13: comp.sources.unix
3820 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3821 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3822 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3827 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3828 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3832 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3833 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3834 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3835 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3836 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3837 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3839 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3840 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3841 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3844 @node Topic Parameters
3845 @subsection Topic Parameters
3846 @cindex topic parameters
3848 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3849 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3850 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3852 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3857 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3858 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3859 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3862 @item subscribe-level
3863 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3864 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3865 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3869 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3870 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3871 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3872 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3878 2: alt.religion.emacs
3882 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3884 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3885 13: comp.sources.unix
3889 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3890 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3891 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3892 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3893 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3894 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3896 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3897 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3898 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3899 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3900 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3902 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3903 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3904 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3905 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3906 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3907 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3908 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3909 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3912 @node Misc Group Stuff
3913 @section Misc Group Stuff
3916 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3917 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3918 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3919 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3920 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3927 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3928 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3929 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3933 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3934 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3935 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3936 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3937 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3938 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3939 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3943 @findex gnus-group-mail
3944 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3945 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3946 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3947 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3951 @findex gnus-group-news
3952 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3953 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3954 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3956 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3957 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3958 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3959 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3960 for this to work though.
3964 Variables for the group buffer:
3968 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3969 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3970 is called after the group buffer has been
3973 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3974 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3975 is called after the group buffer is
3976 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3979 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3980 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3981 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3982 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3984 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3985 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3986 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3987 whether they are empty or not.
3989 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3990 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3991 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3992 non-ASCII group names.
3996 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3997 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4000 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4001 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4002 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4003 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4004 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4005 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
4009 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4010 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4015 @node Scanning New Messages
4016 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4017 @cindex new messages
4018 @cindex scanning new news
4024 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4025 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4026 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4027 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4028 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4029 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4034 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4035 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4036 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4037 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4038 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4039 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4040 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4042 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4043 @cindex activating groups
4045 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4046 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4051 @findex gnus-group-restart
4052 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4053 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4054 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4058 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4059 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4061 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4062 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4066 @node Group Information
4067 @subsection Group Information
4068 @cindex group information
4069 @cindex information on groups
4076 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4077 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4080 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4081 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4082 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4083 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4084 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4085 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4086 for fetching the file.
4088 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4089 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4093 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4094 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4096 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4097 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4100 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4101 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4102 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4106 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4107 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4108 @cindex control message
4109 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4110 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4111 group if given a prefix argument.
4113 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-nil, Gnus
4114 will open the control messages in a browser using @code{browse-url}.
4115 Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp} and displayed in an
4118 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4119 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4120 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4124 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4126 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4127 @cindex describing groups
4128 @cindex group description
4129 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4130 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4131 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4135 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4136 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4137 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4144 @findex gnus-version
4145 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4149 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4150 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4153 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4156 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4157 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4161 @node Group Timestamp
4162 @subsection Group Timestamp
4164 @cindex group timestamps
4166 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4167 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4168 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4171 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4174 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4176 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4177 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4180 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4181 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4184 This will result in lines looking like:
4187 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4188 0: custom 19961002T012713
4191 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4192 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4196 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4197 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4200 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4201 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4205 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4206 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4207 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4208 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4210 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4216 @subsection File Commands
4217 @cindex file commands
4223 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4224 @vindex gnus-init-file
4225 @cindex reading init file
4226 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4227 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4231 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4232 @cindex saving .newsrc
4233 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4234 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4235 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4238 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4239 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4240 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4245 @node Sieve Commands
4246 @subsection Sieve Commands
4247 @cindex group sieve commands
4249 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4250 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4251 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4252 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4253 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4255 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4256 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4257 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4258 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4259 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4260 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4261 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4262 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4263 regenerate the Sieve script.
4265 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4266 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4267 is generated. If it is non-nil (the default) articles is placed in
4268 all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article is only
4269 placed in the group with the first matching rule. For example, the
4270 group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4271 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4272 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is nil. (When
4273 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-nil, it looks the same except that
4274 the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4277 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4278 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4283 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4289 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4290 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4291 @cindex generating sieve script
4292 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4293 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4297 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4298 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4299 @cindex updating sieve script
4300 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4301 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4302 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4307 @node Summary Buffer
4308 @chapter Summary Buffer
4309 @cindex summary buffer
4311 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4312 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4314 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4315 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4317 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4320 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4321 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4322 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4323 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4324 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4325 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4326 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4327 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4328 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4329 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4330 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4331 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4332 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4333 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4334 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4335 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4336 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4337 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4338 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4339 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4340 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4341 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4342 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4343 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4344 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4345 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4346 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4347 or reselecting the current group.
4348 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4349 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4350 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4351 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4355 @node Summary Buffer Format
4356 @section Summary Buffer Format
4357 @cindex summary buffer format
4361 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4362 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4363 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4369 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4370 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4371 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4372 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4375 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4376 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4377 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4378 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4379 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4380 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4381 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4382 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4383 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4384 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4385 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4388 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4389 'mail-extract-address-components)
4392 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4393 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4394 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4395 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4398 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4399 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4401 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4402 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4403 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4404 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4405 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4407 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4408 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4409 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4410 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4411 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4412 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4414 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4416 The following format specification characters and extended format
4417 specification(s) are understood:
4423 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4424 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4426 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4427 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4428 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4430 Full @code{From} header.
4432 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4434 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4437 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4438 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4439 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4440 may be more thorough.
4442 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4445 Number of lines in the article.
4447 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4448 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4450 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4451 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4453 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4455 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4458 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4459 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4461 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4462 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4464 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4465 for adopted articles.
4467 One space for each thread level.
4469 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4471 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4474 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4475 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4476 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4479 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4481 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4482 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4483 default level. If the difference between
4484 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4485 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4493 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4495 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4501 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4502 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4504 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4505 article has any children.
4511 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4512 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4514 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4515 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4516 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4517 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4518 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4519 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4522 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4523 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4524 There can only be one such area.
4526 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4527 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4528 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4529 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4530 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4531 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4533 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4534 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4536 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4539 @node To From Newsgroups
4540 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4544 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4545 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4546 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4547 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4548 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4552 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4553 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4554 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4558 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4559 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4562 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4563 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4566 @findex gnus-extra-header
4567 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4568 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4569 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4572 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4576 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4577 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4578 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4579 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4580 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4581 headers are used instead.
4585 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4586 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4587 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4588 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4589 this variable, by entering the server buffer using `^', and then `g' on
4590 the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause regeneration.
4592 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4593 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4594 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4595 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4597 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4601 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4603 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4604 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4605 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4606 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4610 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4613 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4614 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4617 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4618 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4619 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4625 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4626 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4629 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4630 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4632 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4633 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4634 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4635 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4637 Here are the elements you can play with:
4643 Unprefixed group name.
4645 Current article number.
4647 Current article score.
4651 Number of unread articles in this group.
4653 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4656 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4657 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4658 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4659 and no unselected ones.
4661 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4662 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4664 Subject of the current article.
4666 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4668 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4670 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4672 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4674 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4676 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4680 @node Summary Highlighting
4681 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4685 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4686 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4687 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4688 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4689 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4691 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4692 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4693 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4694 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4696 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4697 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4698 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4699 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4701 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4702 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4703 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4704 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4705 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4706 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4709 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4710 ((> score default) . bold))
4712 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4713 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4717 @node Summary Maneuvering
4718 @section Summary Maneuvering
4719 @cindex summary movement
4721 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4722 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4724 None of these commands select articles.
4729 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4730 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4731 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4732 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4733 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4737 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4738 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4739 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4740 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4741 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4744 @kindex G g (Summary)
4745 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4746 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4747 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4750 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4751 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4752 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4753 to the group buffer.
4755 Variables related to summary movement:
4759 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4760 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4761 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4762 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4763 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4764 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4765 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4766 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4767 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4768 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4769 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4770 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4771 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4772 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4774 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4775 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4776 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4777 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4778 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4779 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4780 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4782 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4784 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4785 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4786 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4787 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4788 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4790 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4791 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4792 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4793 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4794 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4795 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4796 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4797 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4800 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4801 the given number of lines from the top.
4806 @node Choosing Articles
4807 @section Choosing Articles
4808 @cindex selecting articles
4811 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4812 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4816 @node Choosing Commands
4817 @subsection Choosing Commands
4819 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4820 and they all select and display an article.
4822 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4823 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4827 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4828 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4829 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4830 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4835 @kindex G n (Summary)
4836 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4837 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4838 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4843 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4844 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4845 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4850 @kindex G N (Summary)
4851 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4852 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4857 @kindex G P (Summary)
4858 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4859 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4862 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4863 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4864 Go to the next article with the same subject
4865 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4868 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4869 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4870 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4871 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4875 @kindex G f (Summary)
4877 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4878 Go to the first unread article
4879 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4883 @kindex G b (Summary)
4885 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4886 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4887 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4888 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4893 @kindex G l (Summary)
4894 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4895 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4898 @kindex G o (Summary)
4899 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4901 @cindex article history
4902 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4903 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4904 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4905 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4906 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4907 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4912 @kindex G j (Summary)
4913 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4914 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4915 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4920 @node Choosing Variables
4921 @subsection Choosing Variables
4923 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4926 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4927 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4928 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4929 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4930 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4931 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4933 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4934 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4935 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4936 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4938 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4939 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4940 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4941 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4942 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4943 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4944 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4945 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4946 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4947 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4948 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4949 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4950 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4951 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4956 @node Paging the Article
4957 @section Scrolling the Article
4958 @cindex article scrolling
4963 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4964 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4965 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4966 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4967 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4970 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4971 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4972 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4975 @kindex RET (Summary)
4976 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4977 Scroll the current article one line forward
4978 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4981 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4982 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4983 Scroll the current article one line backward
4984 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4988 @kindex A g (Summary)
4990 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4991 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4992 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4993 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4994 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4995 the way it came from the server.
4997 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4998 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4999 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5002 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5007 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5012 @kindex A < (Summary)
5013 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5014 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5015 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5020 @kindex A > (Summary)
5021 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5022 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5026 @kindex A s (Summary)
5028 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5029 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5030 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5034 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5035 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5040 @node Reply Followup and Post
5041 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5044 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5045 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5046 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5047 * Canceling and Superseding::
5051 @node Summary Mail Commands
5052 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5054 @cindex composing mail
5056 Commands for composing a mail message:
5062 @kindex S r (Summary)
5064 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5065 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5066 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5067 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5068 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5073 @kindex S R (Summary)
5074 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5075 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5076 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5077 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5078 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5081 @kindex S w (Summary)
5082 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5083 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5084 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5085 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5086 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5089 @kindex S W (Summary)
5090 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5091 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5092 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5093 the process/prefix convention.
5096 @kindex S v (Summary)
5097 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5098 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5099 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5100 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5101 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5102 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5105 @kindex S V (Summary)
5106 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5107 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5108 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5109 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5112 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5113 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5114 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5115 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5118 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5119 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5120 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5121 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5122 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5126 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5127 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5128 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5129 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5130 Forward the current article to some other person
5131 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5132 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5133 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5134 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5135 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5136 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5137 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5138 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5139 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime}
5145 @kindex S m (Summary)
5146 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5147 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5148 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5149 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5150 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5155 @kindex S i (Summary)
5156 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5157 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5158 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5159 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5161 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5162 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5163 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5164 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5165 for this to work though.
5168 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5169 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5170 @cindex bouncing mail
5171 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5172 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5173 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5174 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5175 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5176 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5177 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5178 very well fail, though.
5181 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5182 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5183 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5184 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5185 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5186 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5187 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5188 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5189 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5190 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5192 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5193 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5194 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5195 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5196 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5198 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5199 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5202 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5203 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5204 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5205 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5206 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5209 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5210 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5211 @cindex crossposting
5212 @cindex excessive crossposting
5213 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5214 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5216 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5217 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5218 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5219 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5220 command understands the process/prefix convention
5221 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5225 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5226 Manual}, for more information.
5229 @node Summary Post Commands
5230 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5232 @cindex composing news
5234 Commands for posting a news article:
5240 @kindex S p (Summary)
5241 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5242 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5243 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5244 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5245 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5250 @kindex S f (Summary)
5251 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5252 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5253 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5257 @kindex S F (Summary)
5259 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5260 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5261 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5262 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5263 process/prefix convention.
5266 @kindex S n (Summary)
5267 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5268 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5269 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5272 @kindex S N (Summary)
5273 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5274 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5275 message through mail and include the original message
5276 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5277 the process/prefix convention.
5280 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5281 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5282 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5283 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5284 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5285 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5286 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5287 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5288 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5289 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5290 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5291 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5292 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section.
5295 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5296 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5298 @cindex making digests
5299 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5300 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5301 process/prefix convention.
5304 @kindex S u (Summary)
5305 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5306 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5307 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5308 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5311 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5312 Manual}, for more information.
5315 @node Summary Message Commands
5316 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5320 @kindex S y (Summary)
5321 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5322 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5323 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5324 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5325 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5330 @node Canceling and Superseding
5331 @subsection Canceling Articles
5332 @cindex canceling articles
5333 @cindex superseding articles
5335 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5336 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5338 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5340 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5342 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5343 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5344 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5345 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5346 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5347 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5349 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5350 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5353 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5354 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5355 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5357 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5358 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5359 your original article.
5361 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5363 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5364 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5365 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5368 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5369 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5370 have posted almost the same article twice.
5372 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5373 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5374 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5375 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5376 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5377 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5378 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5379 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5380 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5381 canceled/superseded.
5383 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5385 @node Delayed Articles
5386 @section Delayed Articles
5387 @cindex delayed sending
5388 @cindex send delayed
5390 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5391 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5392 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5393 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5396 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5399 @findex gnus-delay-article
5400 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5401 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5402 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5403 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5407 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5408 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5409 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5410 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5413 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5414 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5415 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5418 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5419 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5420 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5421 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5422 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5423 that means a time tomorrow.
5426 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5427 couple of variables:
5430 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5431 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5432 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5433 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5435 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5436 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5437 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5438 formats described above.
5440 @item gnus-delay-group
5441 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5442 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5443 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5444 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5446 @item gnus-delay-header
5447 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5448 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5449 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5450 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5453 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5454 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5455 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5456 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5457 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5459 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5460 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5461 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5462 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5463 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5464 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5467 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5468 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5469 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5470 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5471 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-nil,
5472 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5473 argument is ignored.
5475 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5476 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5477 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5481 @node Marking Articles
5482 @section Marking Articles
5483 @cindex article marking
5484 @cindex article ticking
5487 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5489 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5490 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5491 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5493 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5496 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5497 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5498 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5502 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5506 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5507 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5508 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5512 @node Unread Articles
5513 @subsection Unread Articles
5515 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5520 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5521 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5523 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5524 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5525 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5526 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5527 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5528 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5529 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5532 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5533 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5535 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5536 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5537 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5538 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5542 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5543 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5545 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5550 @subsection Read Articles
5551 @cindex expirable mark
5553 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5558 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5559 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5560 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5563 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5564 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5567 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5568 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5569 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5572 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5573 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5576 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5577 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5580 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5581 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5584 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5585 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5588 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5589 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5592 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5593 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5596 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5597 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5601 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5602 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5603 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5607 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5608 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5610 One more special mark, though:
5614 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5615 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5617 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5618 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5619 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5620 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5626 @subsection Other Marks
5627 @cindex process mark
5630 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5636 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5637 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5638 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5639 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5640 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5643 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5644 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5645 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5646 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5649 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5650 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5651 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5654 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5655 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5656 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5659 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5660 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5661 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5662 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5665 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5666 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5667 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5668 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5669 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5670 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5673 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5674 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5675 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5676 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5679 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5680 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5681 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5682 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5683 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5686 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5687 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5688 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5689 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5690 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5691 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5695 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5696 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5697 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5699 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5700 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5701 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5705 @subsection Setting Marks
5706 @cindex setting marks
5708 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5713 @kindex M c (Summary)
5714 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5715 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5716 @cindex mark as unread
5717 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5718 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5724 @kindex M t (Summary)
5725 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5726 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5727 @xref{Article Caching}.
5732 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5733 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5734 Mark the current article as dormant
5735 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5739 @kindex M d (Summary)
5741 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5742 Mark the current article as read
5743 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5747 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5748 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5749 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5754 @kindex M k (Summary)
5755 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5756 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5757 and then select the next unread article
5758 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5762 @kindex M K (Summary)
5763 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5764 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5765 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5766 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5769 @kindex M C (Summary)
5770 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5771 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5772 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5775 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5776 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5777 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5778 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5781 @kindex M H (Summary)
5782 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5783 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5784 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5787 @kindex M h (Summary)
5788 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5789 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5790 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5793 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5794 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5795 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5796 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5799 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5800 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5801 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5802 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5806 @kindex M e (Summary)
5808 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5809 Mark the current article as expirable
5810 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5813 @kindex M b (Summary)
5814 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5815 Set a bookmark in the current article
5816 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5819 @kindex M B (Summary)
5820 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5821 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5822 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5825 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5826 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5827 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5828 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5831 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5832 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5833 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5834 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5837 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5838 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5839 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5840 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5841 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5844 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5845 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5846 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5847 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5848 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5849 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5850 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5851 The default is @code{t}.
5854 @node Generic Marking Commands
5855 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5857 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5858 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5859 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5860 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5861 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5864 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5865 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5868 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5869 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5870 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5871 to list in this manual.
5873 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5874 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5875 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5876 article, you could say something like:
5879 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5880 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5881 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5887 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5888 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5892 @node Setting Process Marks
5893 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5894 @cindex setting process marks
5901 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5902 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5903 Mark the current article with the process mark
5904 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5905 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5909 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5910 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5911 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5912 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5915 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5916 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5917 Remove the process mark from all articles
5918 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5921 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5922 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5923 Invert the list of process marked articles
5924 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5927 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5928 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5929 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5930 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5933 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5934 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5935 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5936 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5939 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5940 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5941 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5945 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
5946 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
5949 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5950 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5951 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5952 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5955 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5956 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5957 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5958 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5961 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5962 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5963 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5964 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5967 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5968 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5969 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5972 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5973 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5974 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5975 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5978 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5979 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5980 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5983 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5984 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5985 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5986 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5989 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5990 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5991 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5992 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5995 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5996 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5997 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5998 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6001 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6002 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6003 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6004 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6008 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6009 set process marks based on article body contents.
6016 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6017 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6018 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6021 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6022 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6023 additional articles.
6029 @kindex / / (Summary)
6030 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6031 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6032 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6036 @kindex / a (Summary)
6037 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6038 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6039 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6043 @kindex / x (Summary)
6044 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6045 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6046 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6047 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6052 @kindex / u (Summary)
6054 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6055 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6056 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6057 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6058 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6061 @kindex / m (Summary)
6062 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6063 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6064 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6067 @kindex / t (Summary)
6068 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6069 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6070 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6071 articles younger than that number of days.
6074 @kindex / n (Summary)
6075 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6076 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6077 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6078 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6081 @kindex / w (Summary)
6082 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6083 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6084 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6088 @kindex / . (Summary)
6089 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6090 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6091 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6094 @kindex / v (Summary)
6095 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6096 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6097 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6100 @kindex / p (Summary)
6101 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6102 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6103 group parameter predicate
6104 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6105 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6109 @kindex M S (Summary)
6110 @kindex / E (Summary)
6111 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6112 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6113 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6116 @kindex / D (Summary)
6117 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6118 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6119 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6122 @kindex / * (Summary)
6123 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6124 Include all cached articles in the limit
6125 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6128 @kindex / d (Summary)
6129 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6130 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6131 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6134 @kindex / M (Summary)
6135 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6136 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6139 @kindex / T (Summary)
6140 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6141 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6144 @kindex / c (Summary)
6145 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6146 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6147 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6150 @kindex / C (Summary)
6151 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6152 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6153 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6154 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6157 @kindex / N (Summary)
6158 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6159 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6160 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6163 @kindex / o (Summary)
6164 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6165 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6166 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6174 @cindex article threading
6176 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6177 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6178 hierarchical fashion.
6180 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6181 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6182 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6183 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6184 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6185 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6186 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6188 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6192 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6195 A tree-like article structure.
6198 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6201 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6202 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6203 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6204 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6205 called loose threads.
6207 @item thread gathering
6208 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6210 @item sparse threads
6211 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6212 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6218 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6219 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6223 @node Customizing Threading
6224 @subsection Customizing Threading
6225 @cindex customizing threading
6228 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6229 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6230 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6231 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6236 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6239 @cindex loose threads
6242 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6243 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6244 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6245 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6246 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6247 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6249 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6250 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6251 There are four possible values:
6255 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6256 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6257 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6258 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6259 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6264 @cindex adopting articles
6269 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6270 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6271 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6272 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6275 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6276 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6277 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6278 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6279 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6280 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6281 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6284 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6285 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6286 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6290 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6291 display them after one another.
6294 Don't gather loose threads.
6297 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6298 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6299 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6300 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6301 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6302 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6303 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6304 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6305 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6306 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6307 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6309 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6310 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6311 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6314 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6315 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6316 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6317 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6318 simplification is used.
6320 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6321 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6322 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6323 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6325 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6327 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6333 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6334 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6335 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6336 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6341 (mapconcat 'identity
6342 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6344 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6347 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6350 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6351 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6352 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6353 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6354 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6355 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6357 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6360 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6361 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6362 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6364 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6365 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6368 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6369 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6370 Remove excessive whitespace.
6372 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6373 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6374 Remove all whitespace.
6377 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6380 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6381 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6382 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6383 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6384 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6385 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6386 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6387 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6389 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6390 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6391 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6392 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6393 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6394 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6395 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6396 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6397 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6401 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6402 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6403 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6404 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6406 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6407 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6408 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6411 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6415 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6416 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6422 @node Filling In Threads
6423 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6426 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6427 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6428 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6429 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6430 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6431 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6432 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6433 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6434 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6435 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6436 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6437 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6440 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6441 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6442 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6444 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6445 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6446 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6447 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6448 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6449 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6450 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6451 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6452 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6453 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6454 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6455 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6456 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6457 @code{nil} by default.
6459 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6460 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6461 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6462 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6463 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6464 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6465 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6467 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6468 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6469 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6474 @node More Threading
6475 @subsubsection More Threading
6478 @item gnus-show-threads
6479 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6480 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6481 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6482 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6483 slower and more awkward.
6485 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6486 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6487 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6490 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6491 Avaliable predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6492 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6497 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6498 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6499 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6502 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6503 unread, but you get my drift.)
6506 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6507 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6508 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6509 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6510 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6511 threads are expunged.
6513 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6514 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6515 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6518 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6519 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6520 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6521 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6522 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6523 result in a new thread.
6525 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6526 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6527 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6530 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6531 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6532 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6533 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6534 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6535 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6536 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6537 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6538 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6539 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6540 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6545 @node Low-Level Threading
6546 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6550 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6551 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6552 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6554 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6555 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6556 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6557 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6558 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6559 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6560 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6561 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6562 meaningful. Here's one example:
6565 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6567 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6568 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6570 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6572 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6579 @node Thread Commands
6580 @subsection Thread Commands
6581 @cindex thread commands
6587 @kindex T k (Summary)
6588 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6589 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6590 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6591 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6592 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6597 @kindex T l (Summary)
6598 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6599 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6600 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6601 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6604 @kindex T i (Summary)
6605 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6606 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6607 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6610 @kindex T # (Summary)
6611 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6612 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6613 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6616 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6617 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6618 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6619 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6622 @kindex T T (Summary)
6623 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6624 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6627 @kindex T s (Summary)
6628 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6629 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6630 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6633 @kindex T h (Summary)
6634 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6635 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6638 @kindex T S (Summary)
6639 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6640 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6643 @kindex T H (Summary)
6644 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6645 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6648 @kindex T t (Summary)
6649 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6650 Re-thread the current article's thread
6651 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6652 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6655 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6656 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6657 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6658 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6662 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6663 understand the numeric prefix.
6668 @kindex T n (Summary)
6670 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6672 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6673 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6674 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6677 @kindex T p (Summary)
6679 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6681 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6682 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6683 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6686 @kindex T d (Summary)
6687 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6688 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6691 @kindex T u (Summary)
6692 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6693 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6696 @kindex T o (Summary)
6697 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6698 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6701 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6702 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6703 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6704 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6705 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6706 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6707 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6708 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6709 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6710 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6711 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6712 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6716 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6717 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6719 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6720 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6721 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6722 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6723 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6724 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6725 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6726 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6727 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6728 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6729 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6730 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6731 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6733 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6734 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6735 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6736 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6737 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6738 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6739 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6740 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6742 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6743 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6744 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6746 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6747 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6748 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6749 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6750 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6751 ascending article order.
6753 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6754 by number, you could do something like:
6757 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6758 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6759 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6760 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6763 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6764 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6765 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6766 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6767 which the articles arrived.
6769 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6773 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6775 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6776 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6779 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6780 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6781 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6782 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6785 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6786 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6787 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6788 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6789 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6790 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6791 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6792 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6793 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6794 variable. It is very similar to the
6795 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6796 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6797 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6798 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6799 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6800 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6801 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6803 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6807 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6808 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6809 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6814 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6815 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6816 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6817 @cindex article pre-fetch
6820 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6821 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6822 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6823 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6824 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6826 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6827 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6829 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6830 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6831 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6832 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6833 connection is blocked.
6835 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6836 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6837 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6838 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6840 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6841 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6842 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6843 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6846 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6849 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6850 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6851 happen automatically.
6853 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6854 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6855 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6856 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6857 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6858 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6859 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6861 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6862 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6863 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6864 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6865 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6866 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6867 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6868 data structure as the only parameter.
6870 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6873 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6874 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6875 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6876 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6879 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6882 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6883 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6884 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6886 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6887 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6888 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6889 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6893 Remove articles when they are read.
6896 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6899 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6901 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6902 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6903 @c from the next group.
6906 @node Article Caching
6907 @section Article Caching
6908 @cindex article caching
6911 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6912 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6913 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6914 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6915 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6917 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6919 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6920 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6921 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6922 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6923 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6924 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6925 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6926 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6928 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6929 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6930 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6931 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6932 as dormant, and don't worry.
6934 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6936 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6937 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6938 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6939 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6940 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6941 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6942 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6943 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6944 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6945 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6947 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6948 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6949 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6950 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6951 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6952 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6953 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6954 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6955 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6956 not then be downloaded by this command.
6958 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6959 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6960 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6961 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6962 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6963 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6965 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6966 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6967 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6968 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6969 variables, the group is not cached.
6971 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6972 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6973 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6974 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6975 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6976 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6977 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6978 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6979 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6982 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
6983 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
6984 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
6985 where, isn't that cool?
6987 @node Persistent Articles
6988 @section Persistent Articles
6989 @cindex persistent articles
6991 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6992 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6993 useful in my opinion.
6995 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6996 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6997 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6998 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6999 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7000 the expiry going on at the news server.
7002 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7003 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7004 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7010 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7011 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7014 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7015 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7016 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7017 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7021 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7023 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7024 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7025 interested in persistent articles:
7028 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7032 @node Article Backlog
7033 @section Article Backlog
7035 @cindex article backlog
7037 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7038 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7039 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7040 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7041 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7042 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7043 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7044 increase memory usage some.
7046 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7047 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7048 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7049 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7050 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7051 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7052 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7054 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
7057 @node Saving Articles
7058 @section Saving Articles
7059 @cindex saving articles
7061 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7062 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7063 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7064 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7065 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7067 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7068 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7069 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7071 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7072 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7073 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7075 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7076 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7077 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7078 deleted before saving.
7084 @kindex O o (Summary)
7086 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7087 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7088 Save the current article using the default article saver
7089 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7092 @kindex O m (Summary)
7093 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7094 Save the current article in mail format
7095 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7098 @kindex O r (Summary)
7099 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7100 Save the current article in rmail format
7101 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7104 @kindex O f (Summary)
7105 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7106 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7107 Save the current article in plain file format
7108 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7111 @kindex O F (Summary)
7112 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7113 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7114 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7117 @kindex O b (Summary)
7118 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7119 Save the current article body in plain file format
7120 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7123 @kindex O h (Summary)
7124 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7125 Save the current article in mh folder format
7126 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7129 @kindex O v (Summary)
7130 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7131 Save the current article in a VM folder
7132 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7136 @kindex O p (Summary)
7138 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7139 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7140 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7143 @kindex O P (Summary)
7144 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7145 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7146 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7147 external program Muttprint (see
7148 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7149 options to use is controlled by the variable
7150 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7154 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7155 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7156 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7157 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7158 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7159 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7160 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7161 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7162 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7163 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7164 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7165 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7169 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7170 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7171 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7172 functions below, or you can create your own.
7176 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7177 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7178 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7179 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7180 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7181 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7182 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7184 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7185 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7186 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7187 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7188 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7189 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7191 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7192 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7193 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7194 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7195 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7196 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7197 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7199 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7200 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7201 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7202 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7203 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7204 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7206 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7207 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7208 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7209 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7210 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7212 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7213 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7214 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7215 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7216 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7219 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7220 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7221 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7222 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7223 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7225 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7226 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7227 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7228 reader to use this setting.
7231 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7232 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7233 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7234 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7237 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7238 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7239 available functions that generate names:
7243 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7244 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7245 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7247 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7248 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7249 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7251 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7252 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7253 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7255 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7256 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7257 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7259 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7260 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7261 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7264 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7265 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7266 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7267 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7268 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7272 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7273 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7274 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7275 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7278 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7279 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7280 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7281 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7282 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7283 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7284 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7285 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7286 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7288 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7289 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7290 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7291 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7293 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7294 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7295 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7298 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7299 lots of mail groups called things like
7300 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7301 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7302 following will do just that:
7305 (defun my-save-name (group)
7306 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7307 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7309 (setq gnus-split-methods
7310 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7315 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7316 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7317 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7318 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7319 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7320 all the files in the top level directory
7321 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7322 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7323 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7324 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7326 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7327 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7328 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7329 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7330 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7333 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7337 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7338 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7339 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7342 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7343 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7344 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7345 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7348 @node Decoding Articles
7349 @section Decoding Articles
7350 @cindex decoding articles
7352 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7353 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7356 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7357 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7358 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7359 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7360 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7361 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7365 @cindex article series
7366 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7367 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7368 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7369 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7370 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7372 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7373 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7374 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7376 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7377 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7378 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7380 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7381 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7382 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7385 @node Uuencoded Articles
7386 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7388 @cindex uuencoded articles
7393 @kindex X u (Summary)
7394 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7395 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7396 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7399 @kindex X U (Summary)
7400 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7401 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7402 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7405 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7406 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7407 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7410 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7411 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7412 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7413 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7417 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7418 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7419 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7420 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7421 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7423 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7424 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7425 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7426 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7429 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7430 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7431 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7432 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7433 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7434 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7438 @node Shell Archives
7439 @subsection Shell Archives
7441 @cindex shell archives
7442 @cindex shared articles
7444 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7445 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7446 some commands to deal with these:
7451 @kindex X s (Summary)
7452 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7453 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7456 @kindex X S (Summary)
7457 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7458 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7461 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7462 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7463 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7466 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7467 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7468 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7469 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7473 @node PostScript Files
7474 @subsection PostScript Files
7480 @kindex X p (Summary)
7481 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7482 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7485 @kindex X P (Summary)
7486 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7487 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7488 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7491 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7492 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7493 View the current PostScript series
7494 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7497 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7498 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7499 View and save the current PostScript series
7500 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7505 @subsection Other Files
7509 @kindex X o (Summary)
7510 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7511 Save the current series
7512 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7515 @kindex X b (Summary)
7516 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7517 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7518 doesn't really work yet.
7522 @node Decoding Variables
7523 @subsection Decoding Variables
7525 Adjective, not verb.
7528 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7529 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7530 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7534 @node Rule Variables
7535 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7536 @cindex rule variables
7538 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7539 variables are of the form
7542 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7549 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7550 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7552 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7553 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7556 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7557 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7560 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7561 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7562 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7563 user and default view rules.
7565 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7566 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7567 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7572 @node Other Decode Variables
7573 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7576 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7578 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7579 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7580 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7581 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7582 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7586 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7587 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7590 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7591 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7592 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7595 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7596 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7597 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7598 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7599 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7602 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7603 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7604 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7606 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7607 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7608 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7609 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7610 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7613 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7614 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7615 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7617 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7618 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7619 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7620 looking for files to display.
7622 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7623 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7624 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7627 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7628 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7629 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7632 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7633 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7634 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7637 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7638 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7639 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7642 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7643 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7644 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7645 decoded articles as unread.
7647 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7648 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7649 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7650 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7652 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7653 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7654 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7656 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7657 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7659 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7660 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7661 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7662 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7664 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7665 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7666 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7667 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7668 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7669 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7670 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7671 simply dropped them.
7676 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7677 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7681 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7682 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7683 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7684 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7685 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7686 for you when you post the article.
7688 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7689 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7690 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7691 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7693 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7694 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7695 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7696 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7697 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7698 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7699 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7701 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7702 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7703 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7704 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7705 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7706 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7707 Default is @code{t}.
7713 @subsection Viewing Files
7714 @cindex viewing files
7715 @cindex pseudo-articles
7717 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7718 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7719 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7720 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7721 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7722 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7723 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7725 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7726 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7727 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7728 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7730 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7731 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7732 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7734 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7735 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7736 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7737 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7738 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7740 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7741 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7742 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7743 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7744 a list of parameters to that command.
7746 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7747 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7748 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7750 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7751 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7752 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7755 @node Article Treatment
7756 @section Article Treatment
7758 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7759 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7760 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7761 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7762 these articles easier.
7765 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7766 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7767 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7768 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7769 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7770 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7771 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7772 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7773 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7774 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7778 @node Article Highlighting
7779 @subsection Article Highlighting
7780 @cindex highlighting
7782 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7783 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7788 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7789 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7790 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7791 Do much highlighting of the current article
7792 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7793 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7796 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7797 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7798 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7799 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7800 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7801 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7802 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7803 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7804 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7805 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7806 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7807 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7810 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7811 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7812 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7814 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7817 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7819 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7820 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7821 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7823 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7824 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7825 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7827 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7828 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7829 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7830 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7831 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7832 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7834 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7835 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7836 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7838 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7839 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7840 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7842 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7843 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7844 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7845 that it's a citation.
7847 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7848 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7849 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7851 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7852 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7853 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7855 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7856 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7857 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7858 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7864 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7865 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7866 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7867 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7868 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7869 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7870 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7871 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7876 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7879 @node Article Fontisizing
7880 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7882 @cindex article emphasis
7884 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7885 @kindex W e (Summary)
7886 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7887 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7888 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7889 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7891 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7892 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7893 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7894 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7895 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7896 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7897 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7898 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7902 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7903 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7904 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7913 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7914 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7915 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7916 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7917 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7918 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7919 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7920 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7921 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7922 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7923 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7924 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7925 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7927 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7928 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7929 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7933 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7936 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7938 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7939 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7940 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7941 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7943 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7946 @node Article Hiding
7947 @subsection Article Hiding
7948 @cindex article hiding
7950 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7951 too much cruft in most articles.
7956 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7957 @findex gnus-article-hide
7958 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7959 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7960 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7963 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7964 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7965 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7969 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7970 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7971 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7972 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7975 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7976 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7977 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7981 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7982 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7983 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7984 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7985 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7986 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7987 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7988 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7992 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7993 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7994 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7995 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8000 @kindex W W p (Summary)
8001 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
8002 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8003 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
8004 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
8005 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
8006 articles that have signatures in them do:
8008 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
8010 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
8012 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
8013 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
8015 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8018 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
8023 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8024 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8025 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8026 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8029 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8030 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8031 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8032 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8035 @cindex stripping advertisements
8036 @cindex advertisements
8037 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8038 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8039 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8040 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8041 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8042 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8043 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8044 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8045 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8046 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8049 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8050 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8051 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8055 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8056 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8057 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8058 @code{(ADDRESS . BANNER)}, where ADDRESS is a regexp matching a mail
8059 address in the From header, BANNER is one of a symbol @code{signature},
8060 an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}, a regexp and @code{nil}.
8061 If ADDRESS matches author's mail address, it will remove things like
8062 advertisements. For example, if a sender has the mail address
8063 @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a banner something like
8064 @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he sends, you can use the
8065 following element to remove them:
8068 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8074 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8075 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8076 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8077 customizing the hiding:
8081 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8082 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8083 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8084 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8085 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8086 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8087 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8092 Starting point of the hidden text.
8094 Ending point of the hidden text.
8096 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8098 Number of lines of hidden text.
8101 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8102 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8103 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8104 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8105 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8110 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8111 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8113 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8114 following two variables:
8117 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8118 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8119 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8120 50), hide the cited text.
8122 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8123 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8124 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8129 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8130 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8131 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8132 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8133 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8134 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8138 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8139 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8140 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8142 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8143 citation customization.
8145 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8149 @node Article Washing
8150 @subsection Article Washing
8152 @cindex article washing
8154 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8155 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8157 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8158 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8161 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8162 articles by default.
8167 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8168 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8172 @kindex W l (Summary)
8173 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8174 Remove page breaks from the current article
8175 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8179 @kindex W r (Summary)
8180 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8181 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8182 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8183 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8184 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8185 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8187 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8188 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8189 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8190 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8194 @kindex W t (Summary)
8196 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8197 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8198 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8201 @kindex W v (Summary)
8202 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8203 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8204 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8207 @kindex W o (Summary)
8208 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8209 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8212 @kindex W d (Summary)
8213 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8214 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8216 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8218 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8219 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8220 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8221 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8224 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8225 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8226 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8227 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8230 @kindex W k (Summary)
8231 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8232 @cindex Outlook Express
8233 Deuglify broken Outlook (Express) articles and redisplay
8234 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8237 @kindex W w (Summary)
8238 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8239 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8241 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8245 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8246 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8247 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8250 @kindex W C (Summary)
8251 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8252 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8253 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8256 @kindex W c (Summary)
8257 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8258 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8259 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8260 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8261 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8264 @kindex W q (Summary)
8265 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8266 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8267 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
8268 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
8269 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
8270 readable to me. Note that this is usually done automatically by
8271 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
8272 header that says that this encoding has been done.
8273 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8276 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8277 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8278 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8279 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8280 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8281 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8282 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8284 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8287 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8288 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8289 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8290 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8291 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8294 @kindex W u (Summary)
8295 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8296 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8297 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8298 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8299 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8302 @kindex W h (Summary)
8303 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8304 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8305 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8306 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8308 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8310 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8311 The default is to use the function specified by
8312 @code{mm-inline-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Customization, , , emacs-mime})
8313 to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by the
8314 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8322 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8326 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8329 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8332 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8337 @kindex W b (Summary)
8338 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8339 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8340 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8343 @kindex W B (Summary)
8344 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8345 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8346 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8349 @kindex W p (Summary)
8350 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8351 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8352 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8353 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8354 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8355 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8356 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8359 @kindex W s (Summary)
8360 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8361 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8362 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8365 @kindex W a (Summary)
8366 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8367 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8368 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8371 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8372 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8373 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8374 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8377 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8378 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8379 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8380 lines with a single empty line.
8381 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8384 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8385 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8386 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8387 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8390 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8391 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8392 Do all the three commands above
8393 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8396 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8397 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8398 Remove all blank lines
8399 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8402 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8403 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8404 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8405 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8408 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8409 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8410 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8411 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8415 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8418 @node Article Header
8419 @subsection Article Header
8421 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8426 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8427 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8428 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8431 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8432 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8433 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8434 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8437 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8438 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8439 Fold all the message headers
8440 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8444 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8445 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8446 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8451 @node Article Buttons
8452 @subsection Article Buttons
8455 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8456 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8457 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8458 button on these references.
8460 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8461 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8462 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8463 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8464 one that handles article heads:
8468 @item gnus-button-alist
8469 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8470 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8473 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8479 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8480 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8481 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a variable containing a
8482 regexp, useful variables to use include @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8485 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8486 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8487 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8490 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8491 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8492 avoid false matches.
8495 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8498 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8499 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8503 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8506 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8509 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8510 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8511 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8512 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8513 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8516 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8519 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8521 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8522 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8523 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8524 default values of the variables above.
8526 @item gnus-article-button-face
8527 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8528 Face used on buttons.
8530 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8531 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8532 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8536 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8540 @subsection Article Date
8542 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8543 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8544 when the article was sent.
8549 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8550 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8551 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8552 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8555 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8556 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8558 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8559 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8562 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8563 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8564 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8567 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8568 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8569 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8570 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8573 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8574 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8575 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8576 @findex format-time-string
8577 Display the date using a user-defined format
8578 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8579 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8580 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8581 for a list of possible format specs.
8584 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8585 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8586 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8587 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8588 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8589 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8592 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8595 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8596 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8599 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8600 into wonderful absurdities.
8602 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8605 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8608 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8609 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8613 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8614 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8615 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8616 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8617 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8618 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8619 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8623 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8624 preferred format automatically.
8627 @node Article Display
8628 @subsection Article Display
8633 These commands add various frivolous display gimmics to the article
8634 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8636 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8637 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8639 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8640 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8642 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8643 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8645 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8650 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8651 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8652 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8653 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8656 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8657 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8658 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8661 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8662 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8663 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8666 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8667 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8668 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8669 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8672 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8673 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8674 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8675 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8678 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8679 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8680 Remove all images from the article buffer
8681 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8687 @node Article Signature
8688 @subsection Article Signature
8690 @cindex article signature
8692 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8693 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8694 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8695 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8696 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8697 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8698 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8699 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8700 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8703 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8704 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8705 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8706 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8707 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8708 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8709 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8710 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8713 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8716 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8717 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8718 signature when displaying articles.
8722 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8725 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8728 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8729 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8731 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8732 in question is not a signature.
8735 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8736 listed above. Here's an example:
8739 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8740 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8743 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8744 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8745 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8746 signature after all.
8749 @node Article Miscellania
8750 @subsection Article Miscellania
8754 @kindex A t (Summary)
8755 @findex gnus-article-babel
8756 Translate the article from one language to another
8757 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8763 @section MIME Commands
8764 @cindex MIME decoding
8766 @cindex viewing attachments
8768 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8769 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8775 @kindex K v (Summary)
8776 View the @sc{mime} part.
8779 @kindex K o (Summary)
8780 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8783 @kindex K c (Summary)
8784 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8787 @kindex K e (Summary)
8788 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8791 @kindex K i (Summary)
8792 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8795 @kindex K | (Summary)
8796 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8799 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8804 @kindex K b (Summary)
8805 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8806 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8810 @kindex K m (Summary)
8811 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8812 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8813 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8814 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8815 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8818 @kindex X m (Summary)
8819 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8820 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8821 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8822 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8825 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8826 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8827 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8828 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8831 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8832 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8833 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8834 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8837 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8838 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8839 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8840 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8842 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8843 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8844 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8845 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8846 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8847 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8850 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8851 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
8852 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8853 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8860 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8861 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8862 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8863 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8866 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8869 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8873 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8874 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8875 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8876 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8877 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8878 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8881 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8882 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8883 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8884 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8885 displayed. This variable overrides
8886 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8888 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8889 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8890 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8892 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8893 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8894 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8895 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8896 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8897 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8898 save all jpegs into some directory).
8900 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8903 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8904 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8906 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8907 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8908 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8909 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8910 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8913 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8914 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8915 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8917 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8918 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8919 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8920 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8922 Ready-made functions include@*
8923 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8924 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8925 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8926 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8927 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8928 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8929 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8930 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8931 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8932 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8933 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8934 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8936 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8937 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8939 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8940 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8941 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8944 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8945 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8946 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8947 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8951 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8960 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8961 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8962 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8963 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8964 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8965 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8966 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8968 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8969 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8970 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8971 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8973 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8974 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8975 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8976 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8977 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8978 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8979 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8980 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8982 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8983 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8984 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8985 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8986 quoted-printable header encoding.
8988 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8989 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8990 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8994 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8997 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8998 means encode all charsets),
9000 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9001 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9002 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9009 @cindex coding system aliases
9010 @cindex preferred charset
9012 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9014 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9015 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9018 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9019 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9022 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9023 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9025 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9028 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9031 This will almost do the right thing.
9033 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9037 (codepage-setup 1251)
9038 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9042 @node Article Commands
9043 @section Article Commands
9050 @kindex A P (Summary)
9051 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9052 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9053 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9054 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9055 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9056 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9061 @node Summary Sorting
9062 @section Summary Sorting
9063 @cindex summary sorting
9065 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9066 can't really see why you'd want that.
9071 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9072 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9073 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9076 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9077 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9078 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9081 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9082 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9083 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9086 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9087 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9088 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9091 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9092 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9093 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9096 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9097 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9098 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9101 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9102 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9103 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9106 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9107 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9108 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9111 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9112 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9113 Sort using the default sorting method
9114 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9117 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9118 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9119 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9120 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9121 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9125 @node Finding the Parent
9126 @section Finding the Parent
9127 @cindex parent articles
9128 @cindex referring articles
9133 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9134 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9135 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9136 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9137 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9138 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9139 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9140 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9141 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9143 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9144 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9145 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9146 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9147 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9151 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9152 @kindex A R (Summary)
9153 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9154 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9157 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9158 @kindex A T (Summary)
9159 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9160 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9161 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9162 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9163 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9164 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9165 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9167 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9168 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9169 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9170 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9171 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9172 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9175 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9176 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9178 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9179 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9180 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9181 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9182 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9183 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9184 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9187 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9188 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9189 by giving this command a prefix.
9191 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9192 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9193 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9194 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9195 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9196 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9199 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9200 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9201 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9204 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9205 then ask Google if that fails:
9208 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9210 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type google))))
9213 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9214 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9215 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9216 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9217 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9218 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9219 support this at all.
9222 @node Alternative Approaches
9223 @section Alternative Approaches
9225 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9226 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9229 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9230 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9235 @subsection Pick and Read
9236 @cindex pick and read
9238 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9239 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9240 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9241 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9243 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9244 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9245 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9246 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9247 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9248 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9250 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9255 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9256 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9257 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9258 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9259 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9260 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9261 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9262 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9265 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9266 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9267 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9268 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9272 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9273 Unpick the thread or article
9274 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9275 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9276 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9277 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9278 the thread or article at that line.
9282 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9283 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9284 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9285 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9286 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9287 will still be visible when you are reading.
9291 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9292 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9293 which is mapped to the same function
9294 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9296 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9299 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9302 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9303 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9305 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9306 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9307 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9309 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9310 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9311 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9312 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9313 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9314 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9315 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9319 @subsection Binary Groups
9320 @cindex binary groups
9322 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9323 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9324 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9325 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9326 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9327 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9328 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9331 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9332 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9333 command, when you have turned on this mode
9334 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9336 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9337 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9341 @section Tree Display
9344 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9345 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9346 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9347 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9350 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9353 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9354 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9355 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9357 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9358 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9359 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9360 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9361 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9363 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9364 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9365 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9366 default is @code{modeline}.
9368 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9369 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9370 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9371 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9372 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9373 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9374 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9380 The name of the poster.
9382 The @code{From} header.
9384 The number of the article.
9386 The opening bracket.
9388 The closing bracket.
9393 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9395 Variables related to the display are:
9398 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9399 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9400 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9401 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9402 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9403 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9405 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9406 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9407 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9408 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9412 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9413 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9414 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9415 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9416 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9417 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9418 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9419 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9420 other windows displayed next to it.
9422 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9426 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9427 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9430 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9431 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9432 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9433 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9434 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9435 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9436 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9440 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9443 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9453 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9457 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9458 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9460 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9462 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9467 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9468 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9469 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9472 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9473 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9474 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9475 (gnus-add-configuration
9479 (summary 0.75 point)
9484 @xref{Window Layout}.
9487 @node Mail Group Commands
9488 @section Mail Group Commands
9489 @cindex mail group commands
9491 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9492 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9494 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9495 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9500 @kindex B e (Summary)
9501 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9502 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9503 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9504 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9505 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9508 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9509 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9510 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9511 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9512 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9513 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9516 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9517 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9518 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9519 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9520 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9521 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9524 @kindex B m (Summary)
9526 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9527 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9528 Move the article from one mail group to another
9529 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9530 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9533 @kindex B c (Summary)
9535 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9536 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9537 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9538 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9539 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9542 @kindex B B (Summary)
9543 @cindex crosspost mail
9544 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9545 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9546 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9547 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9548 be properly updated.
9551 @kindex B i (Summary)
9552 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9553 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9554 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9555 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9558 @kindex B I (Summary)
9559 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9560 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9561 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9562 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9565 @kindex B r (Summary)
9566 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9567 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9568 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9569 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9570 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9571 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9572 (which is the default).
9576 @kindex B w (Summary)
9578 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9579 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9580 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9581 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9582 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9583 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9584 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9587 @kindex B q (Summary)
9588 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9589 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9590 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9591 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9594 @kindex B t (Summary)
9595 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9596 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9597 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9600 @kindex B p (Summary)
9601 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9602 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9603 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9604 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9605 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9606 article from your news server (or rather, from
9607 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9608 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9609 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9610 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9611 just not have arrived yet.
9614 @kindex K E (Summary)
9615 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9616 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9617 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9618 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9619 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9623 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9624 @cindex moving articles
9625 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9626 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9627 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9628 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9629 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9630 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9631 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9634 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9635 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9636 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9637 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9641 @node Various Summary Stuff
9642 @section Various Summary Stuff
9645 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9646 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9647 * Summary Generation Commands::
9648 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9652 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9653 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9654 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9656 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9657 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9658 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9659 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9660 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9661 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9664 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9665 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9666 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9667 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9668 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9670 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9671 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9672 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9675 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9676 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9677 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9678 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9679 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9680 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9681 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9682 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9683 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9684 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9686 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9687 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9688 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9689 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9690 list of articles to be selected.
9692 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9693 the list in one particular group:
9696 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9697 (if (string= group "some.group")
9698 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9702 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9703 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9704 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9705 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9706 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9707 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9708 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9709 buffers. For example:
9712 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9713 '(message-use-followup-to
9714 (gnus-visible-headers .
9715 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9721 @node Summary Group Information
9722 @subsection Summary Group Information
9727 @kindex H f (Summary)
9728 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9729 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9730 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9731 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9732 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9733 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9734 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9735 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9736 be used for fetching the file.
9739 @kindex H d (Summary)
9740 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9741 Give a brief description of the current group
9742 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9743 rereading the description from the server.
9746 @kindex H h (Summary)
9747 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9748 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9749 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9752 @kindex H i (Summary)
9753 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9754 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9758 @node Searching for Articles
9759 @subsection Searching for Articles
9764 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9765 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9766 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9767 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9770 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9771 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9772 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9773 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9777 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9778 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9779 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9780 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9781 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9782 search backward instead.
9784 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9785 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9788 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9789 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9790 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9791 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9794 @node Summary Generation Commands
9795 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9800 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9801 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9802 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9805 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9806 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9807 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9808 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9813 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9814 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9820 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9821 @kindex A D (Summary)
9822 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9823 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9824 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9825 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9826 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9827 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9828 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9829 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9833 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9834 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9835 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9836 several documents into one biiig group
9837 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9838 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9839 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9840 command understands the process/prefix convention
9841 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9844 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9845 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9846 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9847 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9848 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9849 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9853 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9854 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9855 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9858 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
9859 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9860 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9861 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9864 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
9865 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9866 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9867 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9872 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9873 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9874 @cindex summary exit
9875 @cindex exiting groups
9877 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9878 group and return you to the group buffer.
9884 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9886 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9887 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9888 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9889 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9890 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9891 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9892 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9893 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9894 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9895 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9896 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9900 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9902 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9903 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9904 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9908 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9910 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9911 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9912 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9913 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9916 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9917 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9918 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9919 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9922 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9923 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9924 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9925 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9928 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9929 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9930 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9931 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9932 all articles, both read and unread.
9936 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9937 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9938 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9939 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9940 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9941 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9942 articles, both read and unread.
9945 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9946 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9947 Exit the group and go to the next group
9948 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9951 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9952 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9953 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9954 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9957 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9958 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9959 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9960 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9961 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9962 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9965 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9966 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9967 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9968 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9970 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9971 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9972 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9973 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9974 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9975 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9976 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9977 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9978 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9979 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9980 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9981 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9983 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9985 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9986 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9987 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9988 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9989 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9990 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9991 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9992 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9993 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9996 @node Crosspost Handling
9997 @section Crosspost Handling
10001 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10002 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10003 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10004 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10005 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10006 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10009 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10010 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10011 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10012 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10013 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10015 @cindex cross-posting
10018 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10019 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10020 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10021 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10022 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10023 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10024 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10025 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10026 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10027 the cross reference mechanism.
10029 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10030 @cindex overview.fmt
10031 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10032 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10033 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10034 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10035 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10036 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10039 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10040 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10041 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10046 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10049 @node Duplicate Suppression
10050 @section Duplicate Suppression
10052 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10053 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10054 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10055 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10060 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10061 is evil and not very common.
10064 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10065 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10068 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10069 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10072 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10075 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10076 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10078 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10079 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10080 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10081 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10082 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10083 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10084 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10087 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10088 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10089 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10090 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10091 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10092 saw the article in.
10095 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10096 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10097 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10099 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10100 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10101 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10102 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10103 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10104 session are suppressed.
10106 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10107 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10108 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10109 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10111 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10112 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10113 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10114 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10117 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10118 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10119 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10120 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10121 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10122 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10123 to you to figure out, I think.
10128 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10129 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10130 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10134 To handle PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or gpg.el as
10135 well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG).
10138 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10139 or newer is recommended.
10143 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10144 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10147 @item mm-verify-option
10148 @vindex mm-verify-option
10149 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10150 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10151 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10153 @item mm-decrypt-option
10154 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10155 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10156 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10157 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10162 @section Mailing List
10164 @kindex A M (summary)
10165 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10166 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10167 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10168 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10169 summary buffer, or say:
10172 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
10175 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10180 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10181 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10182 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10185 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10186 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10187 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10190 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10191 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10192 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10196 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10197 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10198 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10201 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10202 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10203 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10206 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10207 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10208 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10212 @node Article Buffer
10213 @chapter Article Buffer
10214 @cindex article buffer
10216 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10217 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10218 tell Gnus otherwise.
10221 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10222 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10223 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10224 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10225 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10229 @node Hiding Headers
10230 @section Hiding Headers
10231 @cindex hiding headers
10232 @cindex deleting headers
10234 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10235 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10237 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10238 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10239 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10240 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10241 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10242 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10243 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10244 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10245 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10247 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10251 @item gnus-visible-headers
10252 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10253 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10254 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10255 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10257 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10258 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10261 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10264 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10267 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10268 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10269 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10270 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10271 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10272 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10274 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10275 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10278 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10281 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10284 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10285 variable will have no effect.
10289 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10290 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10291 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10292 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10293 the headers are to be displayed.
10295 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10296 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10299 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10302 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10303 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10305 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10306 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10307 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10308 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10309 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10310 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10311 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10314 These conditions are:
10317 Remove all empty headers.
10319 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10320 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10322 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10323 @code{From} header.
10325 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10328 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10329 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10331 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10334 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10336 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10339 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10342 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10343 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10346 This is also the default value for this variable.
10350 @section Using MIME
10353 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10354 while people stand around yawning.
10356 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10357 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10359 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10360 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10361 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10363 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10364 @findex gnus-display-mime
10365 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10366 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10367 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10368 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
10370 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10374 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10375 @item RET (Article)
10376 @kindex RET (Article)
10377 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10378 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
10379 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If builtin viewers can not display
10380 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
10381 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
10382 object is displayed inline.
10384 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10385 @item M-RET (Article)
10386 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10388 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10389 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10391 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10393 @kindex t (Article)
10394 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
10395 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10397 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10399 @kindex C (Article)
10400 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10401 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10403 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10405 @kindex o (Article)
10406 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
10407 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10409 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10410 @item C-o (Article)
10411 @kindex C-o (Article)
10412 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
10413 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10414 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10415 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
10416 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
10417 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10419 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10421 @kindex c (Article)
10422 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10423 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
10425 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10427 @kindex p (Article)
10428 Print the @sc{mime} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10429 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10430 @file{.mailcap} file.
10432 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10434 @kindex i (Article)
10435 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
10436 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10437 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10438 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10439 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10442 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
10444 @kindex E (Article)
10445 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10446 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10447 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
10449 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
10451 @kindex e (Article)
10452 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
10453 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
10455 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10457 @kindex | (Article)
10458 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10460 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10462 @kindex . (Article)
10463 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
10464 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10468 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10469 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
10472 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10473 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10474 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
10475 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10476 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10477 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10478 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10479 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10480 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10482 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10484 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10487 @node Customizing Articles
10488 @section Customizing Articles
10489 @cindex article customization
10491 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10492 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10493 called automatically when you select the articles.
10495 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10496 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10497 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10498 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10500 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10501 for sensible values.
10505 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10508 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10511 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10514 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10517 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10521 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10522 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10523 regexps in the list.
10526 A list where the first element is not a string:
10528 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10529 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10530 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10534 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10539 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10540 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10541 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10542 considered to contain just a single part.
10544 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10545 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10546 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10547 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10548 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10549 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10550 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10552 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10553 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10554 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10555 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10558 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10559 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10561 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10563 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10564 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10565 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10566 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10567 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10568 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10569 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10570 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10571 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10572 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10574 @xref{Article Washing}.
10576 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10577 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10578 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10579 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10580 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10581 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10582 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10584 @xref{Article Date}.
10586 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10587 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10588 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10592 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10594 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10596 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10597 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10598 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10602 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10606 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10607 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10608 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10609 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10610 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10611 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10612 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10613 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10615 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10617 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10618 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10619 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10621 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10623 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10624 @item gnus-treat-translate
10625 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10627 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10628 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10629 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10630 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10632 @xref{Article Header}.
10637 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10638 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10639 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10640 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10641 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10645 @node Article Keymap
10646 @section Article Keymap
10648 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10649 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10650 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10651 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10654 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10659 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10660 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10661 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10664 @kindex DEL (Article)
10665 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10666 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10669 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10670 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10671 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10672 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10673 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10676 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10677 @findex gnus-article-mail
10678 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10679 given a prefix, include the mail.
10682 @kindex s (Article)
10683 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10684 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10685 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10688 @kindex ? (Article)
10689 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10690 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10691 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10694 @kindex TAB (Article)
10695 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10696 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10697 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10700 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10701 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10702 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10705 @kindex R (Article)
10706 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10707 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10708 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10709 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10713 @kindex F (Article)
10714 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10715 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10716 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10717 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10725 @section Misc Article
10729 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10730 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10731 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10732 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10735 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10736 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10738 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10739 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10741 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10742 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10743 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10744 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10745 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10746 the contents of the article buffer.
10748 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10749 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10750 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10752 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10753 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10754 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10755 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10757 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10758 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10759 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10760 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10761 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10767 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10768 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10769 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10774 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10777 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10780 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10781 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10782 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10785 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10788 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10791 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10796 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10800 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10802 @item gnus-break-pages
10803 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10804 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10805 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10806 paging will not be done.
10808 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10809 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10810 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10815 @node Composing Messages
10816 @chapter Composing Messages
10817 @cindex composing messages
10820 @cindex sending mail
10825 @cindex using s/mime
10826 @cindex using smime
10828 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10829 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10830 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10831 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
10832 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10833 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10836 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10837 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
10838 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10839 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10840 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10841 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10842 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10843 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
10846 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10847 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10853 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10856 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10857 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10858 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10859 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10861 @item gnus-add-to-list
10862 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10863 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10864 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10866 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10867 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10868 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus requests confirmation when replying to news.
10869 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
10870 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
10875 @node Posting Server
10876 @section Posting Server
10878 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10879 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10881 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10883 It can be quite complicated.
10885 @vindex gnus-post-method
10886 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
10887 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
10888 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
10889 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
10890 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
10891 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
10892 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
10893 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
10894 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10897 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10900 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10901 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10902 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10903 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10905 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10906 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10908 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10909 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10912 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10913 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
10915 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
10916 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
10917 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
10918 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
10919 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
10920 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
10921 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
10922 package correctly. An example:
10925 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
10926 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
10929 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
10930 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
10931 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
10933 Other possible choises for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
10934 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
10935 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
10937 @node Mail and Post
10938 @section Mail and Post
10940 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10944 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10945 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10946 @cindex mailing lists
10948 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10949 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10950 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10951 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10952 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10953 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10954 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10955 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10956 still a pain, though.
10960 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10961 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10962 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10965 @findex ispell-message
10967 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10970 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10971 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10974 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10978 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10979 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10981 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10984 Modify to suit your needs.
10987 @node Archived Messages
10988 @section Archived Messages
10989 @cindex archived messages
10990 @cindex sent messages
10992 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10993 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10994 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10995 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10998 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
10999 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11002 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11003 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
11004 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11007 (nnfolder "archive"
11008 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11009 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11010 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11011 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11014 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11015 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11016 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11017 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11020 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11021 '(nnfolder "archive"
11022 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11023 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11024 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11027 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11029 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11030 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11031 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11033 This variable can be used to do the following:
11038 Messages will be saved in that group.
11040 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11041 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11042 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11043 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11044 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11045 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11046 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11047 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11051 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11053 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11054 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11057 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11062 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11064 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11067 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11069 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11072 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11074 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11075 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11076 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11077 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11080 More complex stuff:
11082 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11083 '((if (message-news-p)
11088 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11089 messages in one file per month:
11092 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11093 '((if (message-news-p)
11095 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11098 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11099 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11101 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11102 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11103 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11104 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11105 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11106 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11107 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11108 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11109 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11110 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11112 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11113 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11114 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11115 this will disable archiving.
11118 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11119 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11120 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11121 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11122 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11125 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11126 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11127 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11130 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11131 but the latter is the preferred method.
11133 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11134 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11135 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11137 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11138 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11139 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11140 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11141 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11142 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11143 changed in the future.
11148 @node Posting Styles
11149 @section Posting Styles
11150 @cindex posting styles
11153 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11155 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11156 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11157 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11160 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11161 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11162 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11163 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11164 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11169 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11170 (organization "What me?"))
11172 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11173 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11174 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11177 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11178 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11179 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11180 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11181 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11182 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11183 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11184 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11186 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11187 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11188 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11189 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11190 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. If it's a function symbol, that
11191 function will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol,
11192 then the variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list
11193 will be @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil}
11194 value, then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
11196 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11197 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11198 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11199 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11200 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11201 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11202 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11203 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11204 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11205 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11208 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11209 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11210 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11211 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11212 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11213 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11214 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11215 references chars lines xref extra.
11217 @vindex message-reply-headers
11219 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11220 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11221 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11223 @findex message-mail-p
11224 @findex message-news-p
11226 So here's a new example:
11229 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11231 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11233 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11234 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11236 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11237 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11238 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11239 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11240 (signature my-news-signature))
11241 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11242 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11243 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11244 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11245 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11246 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11247 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11248 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11249 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11250 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11252 (From (save-excursion
11253 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11254 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11256 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11259 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11260 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11261 if you fill many roles.
11268 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11269 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11270 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11271 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11272 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11274 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11275 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11276 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11277 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11278 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11282 @vindex nndraft-directory
11283 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11284 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11285 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11286 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11287 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11288 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11290 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11291 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11294 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11295 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11296 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11297 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11298 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11299 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11300 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11301 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11302 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11303 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11304 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11305 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11306 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11307 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11309 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11310 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11311 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11313 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11314 @kindex D e (Draft)
11315 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11316 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11317 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11319 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11322 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11323 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11324 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11325 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11326 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11327 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11328 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11331 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11332 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11333 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11336 @node Rejected Articles
11337 @section Rejected Articles
11338 @cindex rejected articles
11340 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11341 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11342 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11343 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11345 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
11346 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11347 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11348 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
11349 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11351 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11352 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11353 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11355 @node Signing and encrypting
11356 @section Signing and encrypting
11358 @cindex using s/mime
11359 @cindex using smime
11361 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11362 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11363 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11364 (@pxref{Security}).
11366 For PGP, Gnus supports two external libraries, @sc{gpg.el} and
11367 @sc{Mailcrypt}, you need to install at least one of them. The
11368 @sc{s/mime} support in Gnus requires the external program OpenSSL.
11370 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11371 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11372 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11373 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11374 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11375 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11376 automatically encrypted messages.
11378 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11379 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11380 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11385 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11386 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11388 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11391 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11392 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11394 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11397 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11398 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11400 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11403 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11404 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11406 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11409 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11410 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11412 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11415 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11416 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11418 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11421 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11422 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11423 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11427 Also @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}.
11429 @node Select Methods
11430 @chapter Select Methods
11431 @cindex foreign groups
11432 @cindex select methods
11434 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11435 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11436 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11437 personal mail group.
11439 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11440 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11441 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11442 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11443 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11444 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11446 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11447 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11449 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11452 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11453 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11454 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11455 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11456 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11458 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11461 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11462 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11463 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11464 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11465 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11466 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11467 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11468 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11472 @node Server Buffer
11473 @section Server Buffer
11475 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11476 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11477 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11478 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11479 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11480 back end represents a virtual server.
11482 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11483 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11484 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11485 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11487 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11488 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11489 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11490 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11491 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11492 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11493 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11495 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11496 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11499 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11500 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11501 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11502 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11503 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11504 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11505 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11508 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11509 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11512 @node Server Buffer Format
11513 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11514 @cindex server buffer format
11516 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11517 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11518 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11519 variable, with some simple extensions:
11524 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11527 The name of this server.
11530 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11533 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11536 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11537 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11538 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11539 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11549 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11552 @node Server Commands
11553 @subsection Server Commands
11554 @cindex server commands
11560 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11561 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11565 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11566 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11569 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11570 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11571 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11575 @findex gnus-server-exit
11576 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11580 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11581 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11585 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11586 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11590 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11591 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11595 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11596 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11600 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11601 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11602 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11607 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11608 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11609 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11610 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11615 @node Example Methods
11616 @subsection Example Methods
11618 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11621 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11624 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11630 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11631 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11634 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11635 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11637 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11638 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11642 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11645 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11646 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11648 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11649 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11650 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11654 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11657 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11660 Here's the method for a public spool:
11664 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11665 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11671 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11672 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11673 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11674 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11675 should probably look something like this:
11679 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11680 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11681 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11682 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11685 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11686 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11687 configuration to the example above:
11690 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11693 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11695 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11696 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11697 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11701 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11702 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11703 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11704 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11707 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11708 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11709 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11710 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11713 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11714 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11716 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11717 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11719 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11720 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11721 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11723 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11725 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11726 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11727 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11728 will contain the following:
11738 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11739 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11740 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11743 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11744 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11745 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11748 @node Server Variables
11749 @subsection Server Variables
11751 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11752 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11753 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11754 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11755 won't change the "derived" variables.
11757 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11758 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11759 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11760 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11761 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11762 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11763 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11764 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11765 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11769 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11770 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11771 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11775 @node Servers and Methods
11776 @subsection Servers and Methods
11778 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11779 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11780 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11781 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11785 @node Unavailable Servers
11786 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11788 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11789 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11790 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11791 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11792 actually the case or not.
11794 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11795 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11796 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11797 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11798 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11799 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11800 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11801 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11803 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11804 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11806 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11807 with the following commands:
11813 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11814 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11815 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11819 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11820 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11821 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11825 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11826 Mark the current server as unreachable
11827 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11830 @kindex M-o (Server)
11831 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11832 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11833 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11836 @kindex M-c (Server)
11837 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11838 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11839 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11843 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11844 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11845 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11849 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
11850 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
11856 @section Getting News
11857 @cindex reading news
11858 @cindex news back ends
11860 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11861 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11862 or it can read from a local spool.
11865 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11866 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11874 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11875 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11876 server as the, uhm, address.
11878 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11879 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11880 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11881 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11883 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11884 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11885 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11887 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11892 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11893 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11894 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11896 @cindex authentification
11897 @cindex nntp authentification
11898 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11899 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11900 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11901 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11902 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11903 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11904 present in this hook.
11906 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11907 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11908 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11909 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11910 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11911 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11912 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11913 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11914 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11915 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11916 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11917 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11921 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11924 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11926 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11927 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11928 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11929 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11930 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11931 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11932 @samp{force} is explained below.
11936 Here's an example file:
11939 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11940 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11943 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11944 have to be first, for instance.
11946 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11947 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11948 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11949 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11950 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11951 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11952 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11954 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11955 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11961 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11962 previously mentioned.
11964 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11966 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11967 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11968 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11969 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11970 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11973 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11974 '(("innd" (ding))))
11977 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11979 The default value is
11982 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
11983 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
11984 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
11987 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
11988 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
11990 @item nntp-maximum-request
11991 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
11992 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
11993 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
11994 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
11995 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
11996 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
11997 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
11999 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12000 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12001 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12002 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
12003 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12004 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12005 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12006 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12007 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12008 no timeouts are done.
12010 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12011 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12012 @c @cindex PPP connections
12013 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12014 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12015 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12016 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
12017 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12018 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12019 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12020 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12021 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12022 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12024 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12025 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12026 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12027 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12028 @c described above.
12030 @item nntp-server-hook
12031 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12032 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12035 @item nntp-buggy-select
12036 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12037 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12039 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12040 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12041 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12042 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12045 @item nntp-xover-commands
12046 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12049 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12050 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12054 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12055 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12056 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12057 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12058 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12059 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12060 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12061 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12062 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12063 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12064 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12066 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12067 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12068 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12070 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12071 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12072 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12073 server closes connection.
12075 @item nntp-record-commands
12076 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12077 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12078 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12079 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12080 that doesn't seem to work.
12082 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12083 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12084 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12085 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12086 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12087 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12088 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12089 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12091 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12092 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12093 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12094 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12095 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12096 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12097 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12100 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12103 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12104 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12108 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12109 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12110 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12114 @node Direct Functions
12115 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12116 @cindex direct connection functions
12118 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12119 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12120 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12121 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12124 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12125 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12126 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12129 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12130 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12131 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12132 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12133 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12134 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12135 define a server as follows:
12138 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12140 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12141 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12143 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12144 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12145 (nntp-port-number 563)
12146 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12149 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12150 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12151 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12152 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12153 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12154 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12155 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12156 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12160 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12161 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12162 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12165 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12166 session, which is not a good idea.
12170 @node Indirect Functions
12171 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12172 @cindex indirect connection functions
12174 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12175 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12176 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12177 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12178 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12179 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12182 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12183 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12184 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12185 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12186 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12188 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12191 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12192 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12193 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12194 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12196 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12197 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12198 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12199 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12200 @samp{ssh} for `nntp-via-rlogin-command', you may set this to
12201 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12202 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12203 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12206 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12207 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12208 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12209 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12211 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12214 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12215 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12216 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12219 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12220 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12221 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12222 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12224 @item nntp-via-user-password
12225 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12226 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12228 @item nntp-via-envuser
12229 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12230 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12231 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12232 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12234 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12235 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12236 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12237 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12244 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12249 @item nntp-via-user-name
12250 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12251 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12253 @item nntp-via-address
12254 @vindex nntp-via-address
12255 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12260 @node Common Variables
12261 @subsubsection Common Variables
12263 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12264 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12269 @item nntp-pre-command
12270 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12271 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12272 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12273 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12274 wrapper for instance.
12277 @vindex nntp-address
12278 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12280 @item nntp-port-number
12281 @vindex nntp-port-number
12282 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12283 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12284 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12285 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12287 @item nntp-end-of-line
12288 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12289 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12290 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12291 using a non native connection function.
12293 @item nntp-telnet-command
12294 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12295 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12296 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12297 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12299 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12300 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12301 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12308 @subsection News Spool
12312 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12313 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12314 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12317 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12318 anything else) as the address.
12320 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12321 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12322 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12323 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12327 @item nnspool-inews-program
12328 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12329 Program used to post an article.
12331 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12332 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12333 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12335 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12336 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12337 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12338 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12340 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12341 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12342 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12343 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12345 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12346 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12347 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12349 @item nnspool-active-file
12350 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12351 The path to the active file.
12353 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12354 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12355 The path to the group descriptions file.
12357 @item nnspool-history-file
12358 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12359 The path to the news history file.
12361 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12362 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12363 The path to the active date file.
12365 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12366 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12367 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12370 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12371 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12373 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12374 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12375 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12381 @section Getting Mail
12382 @cindex reading mail
12385 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12389 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12390 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12391 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12392 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12393 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12394 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12395 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12396 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12397 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12398 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12399 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12400 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12401 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12405 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12406 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12408 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12409 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12410 of a culture shock.
12412 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12413 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12415 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12416 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12417 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12418 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12420 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12422 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12423 deleted? How awful!
12425 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12426 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12427 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12428 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12431 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12432 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12433 they want to treat a message.
12435 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12436 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12437 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12438 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12439 archived somewhere else.
12441 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12442 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12443 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12444 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12445 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12447 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12448 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12449 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12451 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12452 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12455 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12456 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12457 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12458 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12459 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12461 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12462 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12463 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12464 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12465 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12466 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12470 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12471 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12473 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12474 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12475 and things will happen automatically.
12477 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12478 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
12481 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12484 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12485 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12486 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12487 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12488 like any other group.
12490 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12493 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12494 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12495 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12499 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12500 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12501 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12504 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12505 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12506 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12509 @node Splitting Mail
12510 @subsection Splitting Mail
12511 @cindex splitting mail
12512 @cindex mail splitting
12514 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12515 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12516 to be split into groups.
12519 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12520 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12521 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12522 ("mail.other" "")))
12525 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12526 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12527 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12528 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12529 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12530 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12531 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12534 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12537 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12538 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12539 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12540 mail belongs in that group.
12542 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12543 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12544 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12545 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12546 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12547 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12549 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12550 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12551 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12552 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12553 thinks should carry this mail message.
12555 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12556 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12557 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12558 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12560 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12561 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12562 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12563 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12564 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12566 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12569 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12570 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12571 links. If that's the case for you, set
12572 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12573 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12575 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12576 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12577 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12578 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12579 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12580 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12583 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12584 Header lines longer than the value of
12585 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12588 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12589 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12590 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12591 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12592 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12593 can be turned off completely by binding
12594 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12595 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12597 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12598 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If
12599 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12600 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12601 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12602 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12603 happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on other kinds
12606 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12607 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12608 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12609 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12610 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12611 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12612 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12613 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12614 month's rent money.
12618 @subsection Mail Sources
12620 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12621 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12625 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12626 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12627 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12631 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12632 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12634 @cindex mail server
12637 @cindex mail source
12639 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12640 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12645 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12648 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12649 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12650 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12653 The following mail source types are available:
12657 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12663 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12664 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12665 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12668 An example file mail source:
12671 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12674 Or using the default path:
12680 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12681 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12682 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12685 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12689 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12692 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12696 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12699 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12701 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12704 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12708 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12709 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
12710 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
12711 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
12712 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
12713 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12714 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12715 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
12716 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
12717 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12719 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12720 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12721 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12722 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
12728 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12732 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12736 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12737 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12738 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12739 predicate are considered.
12743 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12747 An example directory mail source:
12750 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12755 Get mail from a POP server.
12761 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12762 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12765 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12766 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12767 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12768 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12769 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12772 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12776 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12780 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12781 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12784 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12787 The valid format specifier characters are:
12791 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12792 included in this string.
12795 The name of the server.
12798 The port number of the server.
12801 The user name to use.
12804 The password to use.
12807 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12808 corresponding keywords.
12811 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12812 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12815 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12816 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12819 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12820 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12823 @item :authentication
12824 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12825 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12830 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12831 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12833 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12834 default user name, and default fetcher:
12840 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12843 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12844 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12847 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12850 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12854 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12855 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12856 contains exactly one mail.
12862 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12863 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12866 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12867 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12869 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12870 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12871 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12874 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12875 from locking problems).
12879 Two example maildir mail sources:
12882 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12883 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12887 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12892 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12893 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12894 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12895 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12898 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
12899 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
12905 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12906 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12909 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12910 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
12913 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12917 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12921 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12922 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12923 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12924 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12926 @item :authentication
12927 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12928 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12929 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12930 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12933 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12934 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12935 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12941 The valid format specifier characters are:
12945 The name of the server.
12948 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12951 The port number of the server.
12954 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12955 corresponding keywords.
12958 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12959 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12962 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12963 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12964 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12965 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
12966 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12967 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
12970 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12971 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12972 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12973 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
12976 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
12977 after finishing the fetch.
12981 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
12984 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
12986 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
12990 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
12991 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
12992 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
12994 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
12995 required for url "4.0pre.46".
12997 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13003 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13004 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13007 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13011 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13015 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13016 folder after finishing the fetch.
13020 An example webmail source:
13023 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13025 :password "secret")
13030 @item Common Keywords
13031 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13037 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13038 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13042 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13047 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13048 useful when you use local mail and news.
13053 @subsubsection Function Interface
13055 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13056 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13057 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13058 consider the following mail-source setting:
13061 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13062 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13065 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13066 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13067 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13068 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13069 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13071 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13074 @node Mail Source Customization
13075 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13077 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13078 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13082 @item mail-source-crash-box
13083 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13084 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13085 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13087 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13088 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13089 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13091 @item mail-source-directory
13092 @vindex mail-source-directory
13093 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13094 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13095 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13098 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13099 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13100 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13101 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13102 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13103 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13105 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13106 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13107 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13109 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13110 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13111 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13112 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13117 @node Fetching Mail
13118 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13120 @vindex mail-sources
13121 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13122 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13123 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13124 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13126 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13127 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13130 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13131 mail server, you'd say something like:
13136 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13137 :password "secret")))
13140 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13144 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13145 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13148 :password "secret")))
13152 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13153 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13154 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13155 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13156 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13157 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13161 @node Mail Back End Variables
13162 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13164 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13168 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13169 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13170 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13171 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13173 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13174 @item nnmail-split-hook
13175 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
13176 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13177 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13178 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13179 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13180 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13181 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13182 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13183 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13186 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13187 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13188 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13189 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13190 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13191 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13192 starting to handle the new mail) and
13193 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13194 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13195 default file modes the new mail files get:
13198 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13199 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13201 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13202 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13205 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13206 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13207 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13208 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13209 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13210 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13211 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13213 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13214 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13215 @findex delete-file
13216 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13218 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13219 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13220 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13221 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13222 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13224 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13225 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13226 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13227 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13228 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13230 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13231 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13232 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13237 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13238 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13239 @cindex mail splitting
13240 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13242 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13243 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13244 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13245 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13246 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13247 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13249 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13252 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13253 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13254 ;; from real errors.
13255 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13257 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13258 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13259 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13260 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13261 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13262 ;; Other mailing lists...
13263 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13264 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13265 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13266 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13267 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13268 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13269 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13270 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13272 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13273 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13277 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13278 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13279 the five possible split syntaxes:
13284 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13285 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13289 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13290 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13291 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13292 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13293 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13294 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13295 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13296 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13299 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13300 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13301 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13302 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13305 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13306 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13309 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13310 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13313 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13314 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13315 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13316 function should return a @var{split}.
13319 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13320 body of the messages:
13323 (defun split-on-body ()
13325 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13326 (goto-char (point-min))
13327 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13331 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13332 when the @code{:} function is run.
13335 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13336 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13337 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13341 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13345 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13346 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13347 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13348 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13349 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13351 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13352 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13353 are expanded as specified by the variable
13354 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13355 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13358 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13359 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13360 when all this splitting is performed.
13362 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13363 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13364 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13367 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13370 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13371 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13373 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13374 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13375 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13376 groupings 1 through 9.
13378 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13379 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13380 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13381 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13382 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13383 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13384 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13385 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13386 it once per thread.
13388 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13389 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13390 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13393 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13394 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13396 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13397 ;; other splits go here
13401 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13402 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13403 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13404 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13405 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13406 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13407 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13408 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13409 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13410 unless the group name matches the regexp
13411 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13412 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13413 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13414 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13415 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13416 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13417 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13418 messages goes into the new group.
13420 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13421 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13422 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13423 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13424 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13428 @node Group Mail Splitting
13429 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13430 @cindex mail splitting
13431 @cindex group mail splitting
13433 @findex gnus-group-split
13434 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13435 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13436 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13437 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13438 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13439 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13440 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13441 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13443 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13444 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13445 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13446 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13448 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13449 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13450 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13451 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13452 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13453 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13454 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13456 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13457 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13458 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13459 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13460 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13461 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13462 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13464 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13465 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13466 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13467 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13468 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13469 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13470 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13471 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13472 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13473 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13474 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13475 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13476 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13478 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13483 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13484 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13486 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13487 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13488 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13489 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13491 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13494 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13495 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13496 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13499 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13500 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13501 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13505 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13506 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13507 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13511 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13514 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13515 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13516 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13517 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13518 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13519 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13520 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13521 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13522 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13524 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13525 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13526 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13527 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13528 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13529 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13530 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13531 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13532 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13534 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13535 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13536 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13537 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13538 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13539 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
13542 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13545 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13546 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13547 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13548 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13549 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13552 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13553 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13554 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13555 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13557 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13558 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13559 @cindex incorporating old mail
13560 @cindex import old mail
13562 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13563 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13564 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13567 Doing so can be quite easy.
13569 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13570 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13571 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13572 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13573 your @code{nnml} groups.
13579 Go to the group buffer.
13582 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13583 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13586 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
13589 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13590 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13593 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13594 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13597 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13598 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13599 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13600 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13601 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13603 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13604 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13605 using the new mail back end.
13608 @node Expiring Mail
13609 @subsection Expiring Mail
13610 @cindex article expiry
13612 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13613 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13614 different approach to mail reading.
13616 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13617 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13618 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13619 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13620 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13621 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13624 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13625 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
13626 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13627 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13628 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13629 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13630 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13631 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13633 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13634 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
13635 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
13636 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
13637 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
13638 column in the summary buffer.
13640 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13641 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13642 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13643 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13646 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13648 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13649 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13650 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13653 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13654 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13655 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13656 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13657 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13659 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13660 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13663 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13664 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13667 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13668 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13670 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13671 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13672 don't really mix very well.
13674 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13675 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13676 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13677 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13680 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13681 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13682 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13683 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13686 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13688 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13690 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13692 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13694 ((string= group "important")
13700 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13701 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13703 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13704 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13705 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13708 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13709 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13711 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13712 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13713 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13714 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13715 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13716 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13717 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13718 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13719 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13720 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13721 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13722 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13723 name or @code{delete}.
13725 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13727 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13730 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13731 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13732 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13733 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13734 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13737 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13738 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13739 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13740 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13741 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13744 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13745 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13746 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13747 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13748 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13749 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13751 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13752 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13753 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13754 easier for procmail users.
13756 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13757 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13758 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13759 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13760 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13761 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13762 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13763 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13764 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13765 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13766 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13767 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13768 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13771 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13773 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
13774 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
13775 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
13776 auto-expire turned on.
13780 @subsection Washing Mail
13781 @cindex mail washing
13782 @cindex list server brain damage
13783 @cindex incoming mail treatment
13785 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
13786 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
13787 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
13788 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
13789 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
13790 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
13792 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
13793 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
13794 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
13797 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
13798 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
13799 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
13800 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
13803 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13804 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13805 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
13806 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
13807 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
13810 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13811 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13812 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
13813 Emacs running on MS machines.
13817 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13818 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13819 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
13820 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
13823 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13824 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13825 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
13826 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
13828 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
13829 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
13830 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
13831 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
13832 into a feature by documenting it.)
13834 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13835 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13836 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
13837 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
13838 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
13839 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
13840 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
13843 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
13844 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
13847 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
13848 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
13851 This can also be done non-destructively with
13852 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
13854 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
13855 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
13856 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
13858 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13859 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13861 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
13862 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
13863 @code{References} headers.
13867 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13868 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13869 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
13873 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
13874 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
13875 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
13882 @subsection Duplicates
13884 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
13885 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
13886 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13887 @cindex duplicate mails
13888 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
13889 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
13890 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
13891 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
13892 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
13893 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
13894 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
13895 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
13896 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
13897 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
13898 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
13899 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
13900 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
13902 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13903 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13904 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13905 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13907 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13910 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13911 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13915 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13916 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13917 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13918 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13919 (any mail "mail.misc")
13926 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13927 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13932 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13933 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13934 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13935 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13936 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13939 @node Not Reading Mail
13940 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13942 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13943 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13944 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13946 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13947 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13948 mail, which should help.
13950 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13951 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13952 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13953 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13954 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13955 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
13956 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
13957 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
13958 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
13959 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
13960 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
13962 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
13963 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
13967 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
13968 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
13970 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
13971 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
13972 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
13974 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
13975 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
13976 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
13977 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
13978 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
13979 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
13980 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
13983 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
13984 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
13985 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
13986 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
13987 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
13988 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
13992 @node Unix Mail Box
13993 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
13995 @cindex unix mail box
13997 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13998 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13999 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14000 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14001 which group it belongs in.
14003 Virtual server settings:
14006 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14007 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14008 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14011 @item nnmbox-active-file
14012 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14013 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14014 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14016 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14017 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14018 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14019 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14024 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14028 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14029 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14030 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14031 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14032 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14034 Virtual server settings:
14037 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14038 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14039 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14041 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14042 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14043 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14044 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14046 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14047 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14048 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14054 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14056 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14058 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14059 format. It should be used with some caution.
14061 @vindex nnml-directory
14062 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14063 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14064 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14065 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14067 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14070 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14071 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14072 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14073 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14074 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14075 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14076 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14077 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14079 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14080 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14081 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14082 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14084 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14086 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14087 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14088 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14089 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14090 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14091 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14092 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14093 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14096 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14097 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14098 them next time it starts.
14100 Virtual server settings:
14103 @item nnml-directory
14104 @vindex nnml-directory
14105 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
14106 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
14109 @item nnml-active-file
14110 @vindex nnml-active-file
14111 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14112 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
14114 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14115 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14116 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14117 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
14119 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14120 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14121 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14124 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14125 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14126 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14127 default is @code{nil}.
14129 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14130 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14131 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14133 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14134 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14135 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14137 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14138 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14139 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14140 default is @code{nil}.
14142 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14143 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14144 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14146 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14147 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14148 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14153 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14154 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14155 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14156 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14157 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14158 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14159 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14164 @subsubsection MH Spool
14166 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14168 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14169 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14170 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14171 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14173 Virtual server settings:
14176 @item nnmh-directory
14177 @vindex nnmh-directory
14178 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14179 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14182 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14183 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14184 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14188 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14189 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14190 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14191 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14192 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14193 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14194 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14199 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14201 @cindex mbox folders
14202 @cindex mail folders
14204 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14205 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14206 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14209 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14211 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14212 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14213 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14214 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14215 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14216 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14217 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14218 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14219 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14220 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14222 Virtual server settings:
14225 @item nnfolder-directory
14226 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14227 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14228 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14231 @item nnfolder-active-file
14232 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14233 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14235 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14236 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14237 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14238 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14240 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14241 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14242 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14245 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14246 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14247 @cindex backup files
14248 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14249 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14250 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14251 your @file{.emacs} file:
14254 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14255 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14257 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14260 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14261 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14262 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14263 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14264 extract some information from it before removing it.
14266 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14267 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14268 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14269 default is @code{nil}.
14271 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14272 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14273 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14275 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14276 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14277 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14278 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14280 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14281 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14282 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14283 default is @code{nil}.
14285 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14286 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14287 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14289 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14290 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14291 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14292 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14297 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14298 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14299 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14300 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14301 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14302 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14305 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14306 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14308 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14309 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14310 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14311 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14312 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14314 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14315 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14316 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14317 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14318 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14319 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14320 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14321 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14324 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14325 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14326 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14327 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14332 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14333 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14334 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14335 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14336 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14337 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14338 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14339 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14340 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14341 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14342 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14343 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14344 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14349 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14350 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14351 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14352 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14353 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14354 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14355 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14356 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14357 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14358 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14359 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14360 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14361 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14362 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14364 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14365 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14370 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14371 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14372 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14373 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14374 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14375 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14376 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14377 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14378 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14379 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14380 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14381 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14382 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14383 provided by the active file and overviews.
14385 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14386 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
14387 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14388 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14389 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14392 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14393 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14398 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14399 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14400 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14401 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14402 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14403 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14404 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14408 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14409 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14410 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14411 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14412 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14413 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14414 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14415 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14416 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14418 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14419 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14420 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14421 friendly mail back end all over.
14425 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14426 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14427 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14428 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14429 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14430 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14431 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14432 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14435 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14436 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14437 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14438 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14439 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14440 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14441 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14442 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14443 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14444 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14445 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14447 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14448 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14449 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14450 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14451 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14452 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14453 This will probably be changed in the future.
14455 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14456 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14457 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14458 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14459 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14462 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14463 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
14465 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14466 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14467 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14468 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14469 parameter to somthing small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14470 would) to make it use less memory.
14472 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14473 with other back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14474 depending in part on your filesystem.
14476 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14477 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
14482 @node Browsing the Web
14483 @section Browsing the Web
14485 @cindex browsing the web
14489 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14490 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14491 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14492 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14493 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14494 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14495 even know what a news group is.
14497 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14498 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14499 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14500 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14501 you mad in the end.
14503 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14506 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14507 interfaces to these sources.
14511 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14512 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14513 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14514 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14515 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14516 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14519 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14521 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14522 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14523 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14524 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14525 though, you should be ok.
14527 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14528 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14529 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14530 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14531 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14533 @node Archiving Mail
14534 @subsection Archiving Mail
14535 @cindex archiving mail
14536 @cindex backup of mail
14538 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14539 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14540 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14541 marks is fairly simple.
14543 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14544 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14547 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14548 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14549 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14550 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14551 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14552 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14553 might interfer with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14554 before you restore the data.
14556 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14557 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14558 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14559 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14560 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14561 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14562 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14563 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14564 is unnecessary in that case.
14567 @subsection Web Searches
14572 @cindex Usenet searches
14573 @cindex searching the Usenet
14575 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14576 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14577 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14578 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14579 searches without having to use a browser.
14581 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14582 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14583 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14584 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14585 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14587 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14588 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14589 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14590 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14591 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14592 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14593 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14594 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14595 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14596 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14599 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14600 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14601 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14602 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14603 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14604 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14606 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14607 to use @code{nnweb}.
14609 Virtual server variables:
14614 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14615 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14616 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14619 @vindex nnweb-search
14620 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14622 @item nnweb-max-hits
14623 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14624 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14627 @item nnweb-type-definition
14628 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14629 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14630 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14635 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14639 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14642 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14645 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14649 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14656 @subsection Slashdot
14660 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14661 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14662 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14664 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14665 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14668 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14669 '((nnslashdot "")))
14672 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14673 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14674 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14675 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14676 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14679 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14680 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14682 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14683 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14684 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14685 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14686 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14687 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14690 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14693 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14694 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14695 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14696 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14697 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14698 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14699 but much, much slower than untreaded.
14701 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14702 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14703 The login name to use when posting.
14705 @item nnslashdot-password
14706 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14707 The password to use when posting.
14709 @item nnslashdot-directory
14710 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14711 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14712 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14714 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14715 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14716 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14717 news articles and comments. The default is
14718 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14720 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14721 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14722 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14724 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14726 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14727 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14728 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14730 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14732 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14733 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14734 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14736 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14737 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14738 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14739 updated. The default is 0.
14746 @subsection Ultimate
14748 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14750 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14751 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14752 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14753 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14755 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14756 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14757 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14758 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14759 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14760 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14761 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14763 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14766 @item nnultimate-directory
14767 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14768 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14769 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
14774 @subsection Web Archive
14776 @cindex Web Archive
14778 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
14779 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
14780 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
14781 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14784 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
14785 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
14786 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
14787 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
14788 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
14789 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
14790 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
14792 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
14795 @item nnwarchive-directory
14796 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
14797 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
14798 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
14800 @item nnwarchive-login
14801 @vindex nnwarchive-login
14802 The account name on the web server.
14804 @item nnwarchive-passwd
14805 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
14806 The password for your account on the web server.
14814 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
14815 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
14816 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14819 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
14820 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
14823 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
14826 @item nnrss-directory
14827 @vindex nnrss-directory
14828 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
14829 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
14833 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
14834 the summary buffer.
14837 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
14838 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
14840 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
14842 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
14843 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
14846 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
14849 (require 'browse-url)
14851 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
14853 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
14856 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
14857 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
14859 (browse-url (cdr url))
14860 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
14862 (eval-after-load "gnus"
14863 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
14864 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
14865 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
14868 @node Customizing w3
14869 @subsection Customizing w3
14875 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
14876 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
14877 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
14879 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
14880 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
14881 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
14884 (eval-after-load "w3"
14886 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
14887 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
14888 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
14889 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
14891 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
14894 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
14895 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
14904 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
14905 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
14906 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
14907 specify the network address of the server.
14909 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
14910 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
14911 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
14912 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
14913 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
14915 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
14916 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
14917 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
14918 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
14920 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
14921 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
14922 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
14923 usage explained in this section.
14925 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
14926 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
14927 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
14930 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14931 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
14932 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
14934 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14935 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
14936 ; a UW server running on localhost
14938 (nnimap-server-port 143)
14939 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14940 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
14941 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
14942 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
14943 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
14944 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
14945 (nnimap-stream network))
14946 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14948 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14949 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
14950 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
14953 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
14958 @item nnimap-address
14959 @vindex nnimap-address
14961 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
14962 server name if not specified.
14964 @item nnimap-server-port
14965 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14966 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14968 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
14971 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14972 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14975 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14976 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14977 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14978 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14979 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14980 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14981 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14983 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14984 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14985 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14988 Example server specification:
14991 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14992 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14993 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14996 @item nnimap-stream
14997 @vindex nnimap-stream
14998 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
14999 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15000 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15001 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15003 Example server specification:
15006 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15007 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15010 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15014 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15015 @samp{imtest} program.
15017 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15019 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15020 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15023 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15024 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
15025 library @samp{ssl.el}.
15027 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15029 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15032 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15033 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15034 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15035 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15036 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15037 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15038 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15039 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15040 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15043 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15044 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15045 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15046 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
15047 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15048 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15049 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15050 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
15051 distribution, for instance).
15053 @vindex imap-shell-program
15054 @vindex imap-shell-host
15055 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15056 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15058 @item nnimap-authenticator
15059 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15061 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15062 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15064 Example server specification:
15067 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15068 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15071 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15075 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15076 external program @code{imtest}.
15078 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15081 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15082 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15084 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15086 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15088 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
15091 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15093 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15094 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15095 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15096 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15097 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15098 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15101 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15102 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15103 running in circles yet?
15105 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15106 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15109 The possible options are:
15114 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
15117 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15118 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15119 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15120 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15122 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15127 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15128 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15130 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15131 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15132 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15133 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15134 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15137 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15138 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15141 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15142 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15143 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15144 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15147 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15148 as ticked for other users.
15150 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15152 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15154 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15155 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15156 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15157 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15159 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15160 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15161 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15162 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15164 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15165 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15167 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15168 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15169 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15175 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15176 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15177 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
15178 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
15183 @node Splitting in IMAP
15184 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15185 @cindex splitting imap mail
15187 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15188 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15189 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15190 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15191 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15195 Here are the variables of interest:
15199 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15200 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15202 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15204 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15205 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15207 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15209 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15210 @cindex splitting, inbox
15212 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15214 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15215 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15219 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15220 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15223 No nnmail equivalent.
15225 @item nnimap-split-rule
15226 @cindex Splitting, rules
15227 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15229 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15232 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15233 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15234 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15235 Neither did I, we need examples.
15238 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15240 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15241 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15242 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15245 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15246 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15247 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15249 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15250 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15254 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15257 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15258 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15260 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15261 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15262 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15263 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15265 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15266 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15267 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15268 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15269 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15270 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15272 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15273 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15274 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15276 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15277 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15278 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15280 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15282 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15283 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15284 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15287 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15288 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15289 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15290 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15291 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15292 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15295 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15296 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15297 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15298 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15299 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15300 group/function elements.
15302 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15304 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15306 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15308 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15309 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15311 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15312 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15313 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15316 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15317 @cindex splitting, fancy
15318 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15319 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15321 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15322 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15323 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15325 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15326 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15327 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15328 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15333 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15334 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15337 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15341 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15342 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15343 @cindex editing imap acls
15344 @cindex Access Control Lists
15345 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15347 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15349 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15350 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15351 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15354 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15355 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15356 editing window with detailed instructions.
15358 Some possible uses:
15362 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15363 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15364 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15366 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15367 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15368 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15372 @node Expunging mailboxes
15373 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15377 @cindex Manual expunging
15379 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15381 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15382 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15383 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15385 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15388 @node A note on namespaces
15389 @subsection A note on namespaces
15390 @cindex IMAP namespace
15393 The IMAP protocol has a concept called namespaces, described by the
15394 following text in the RFC:
15397 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
15399 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
15400 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
15401 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
15402 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
15404 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
15405 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
15406 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
15407 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
15408 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
15409 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
15412 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the IMAP
15413 implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace prefixes in a way
15414 that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
15416 Specifically, University of Washington's IMAP server uses mailbox
15417 names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only in the
15418 @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is created
15419 (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed without
15420 the namespace prefix, i.e @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do not make it
15421 possible for the user to guarantee that user entered mailbox names
15422 will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands, you should
15423 simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in Gnus.
15425 See the UoW @sc{imapd} documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
15426 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
15427 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
15429 @node Other Sources
15430 @section Other Sources
15432 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15433 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15437 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15438 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15439 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15440 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15441 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15445 @node Directory Groups
15446 @subsection Directory Groups
15448 @cindex directory groups
15450 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15451 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15454 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15455 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15456 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15457 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15459 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15460 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15461 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15462 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15463 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15465 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15467 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15468 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15469 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15470 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15473 @node Anything Groups
15474 @subsection Anything Groups
15477 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15478 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15479 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15482 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15483 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15484 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15485 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15486 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15487 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15488 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15489 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15490 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15491 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15494 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15495 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15496 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15497 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15499 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15500 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15501 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15502 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15504 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15505 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15506 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15507 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15508 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15509 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15510 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15511 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15516 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15517 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15518 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15519 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15521 @item nneething-exclude-files
15522 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15523 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15524 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15526 @item nneething-include-files
15527 @vindex nneething-include-files
15528 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15529 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15531 @item nneething-map-file
15532 @vindex nneething-map-file
15533 Name of the map files.
15537 @node Document Groups
15538 @subsection Document Groups
15540 @cindex documentation group
15543 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15544 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15551 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15556 The standard Unix mbox file.
15558 @cindex MMDF mail box
15560 The MMDF mail box format.
15563 Several news articles appended into a file.
15566 @cindex rnews batch files
15567 The rnews batch transport format.
15568 @cindex forwarded messages
15571 Forwarded articles.
15574 Netscape mail boxes.
15577 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15579 @item standard-digest
15580 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15583 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15585 @item lanl-gov-announce
15586 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15588 @item rfc822-forward
15589 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15592 The Outlook mail box.
15595 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15598 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15601 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15604 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15610 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15613 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15619 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15620 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15621 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15624 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15625 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15626 group. And that's it.
15628 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15629 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15630 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15631 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15632 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15633 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15634 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15635 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15636 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15637 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15639 Virtual server variables:
15642 @item nndoc-article-type
15643 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15644 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15645 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15646 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15647 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15648 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15650 @item nndoc-post-type
15651 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15652 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15653 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15658 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15662 @node Document Server Internals
15663 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15665 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15666 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15667 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15668 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15670 First, here's an example document type definition:
15674 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15675 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15678 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15679 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15680 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15681 types can be defined with very few settings:
15684 @item first-article
15685 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15686 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15689 @item article-begin
15690 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15691 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15693 @item head-begin-function
15694 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15697 @item nndoc-head-begin
15698 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15701 @item nndoc-head-end
15702 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15703 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
15705 @item body-begin-function
15706 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
15710 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
15713 @item body-end-function
15714 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
15718 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
15721 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
15722 regexp will be totally ignored.
15726 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
15727 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
15728 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
15729 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
15730 something that's palatable for Gnus:
15733 @item prepare-body-function
15734 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
15735 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
15736 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
15738 @item article-transform-function
15739 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
15740 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
15741 body of the article.
15743 @item generate-head-function
15744 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
15745 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
15746 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
15747 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
15751 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
15756 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15757 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15758 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
15759 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
15760 (head-end . "^ ?$")
15761 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
15762 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
15763 (subtype digest guess))
15766 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
15767 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
15768 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
15769 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
15770 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
15772 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
15773 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
15774 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
15775 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
15776 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
15777 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
15778 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
15779 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
15780 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
15781 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
15789 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
15790 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
15791 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
15793 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
15794 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
15795 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
15798 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
15799 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
15800 that interested in doing things properly.
15802 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
15803 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
15806 First some terminology:
15811 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
15812 get news and/or mail from.
15815 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
15816 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
15819 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
15823 @item message packets
15824 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
15825 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
15826 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15828 @item response packets
15829 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
15830 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
15831 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15841 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
15842 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
15843 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
15844 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
15847 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
15850 You put the packet in your home directory.
15853 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
15854 the native or secondary server.
15857 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
15858 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
15861 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
15865 You transfer this packet to the server.
15868 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
15871 You then repeat until you die.
15875 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
15876 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
15879 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
15880 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
15881 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
15885 @node SOUP Commands
15886 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
15888 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
15892 @kindex G s b (Group)
15893 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
15894 Pack all unread articles in the current group
15895 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
15896 process/prefix convention.
15899 @kindex G s w (Group)
15900 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
15901 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
15904 @kindex G s s (Group)
15905 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
15906 Send all replies from the replies packet
15907 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
15910 @kindex G s p (Group)
15911 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
15912 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
15915 @kindex G s r (Group)
15916 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
15917 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
15920 @kindex O s (Summary)
15921 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
15922 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
15923 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
15924 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15929 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
15934 @item gnus-soup-directory
15935 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
15936 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
15937 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
15939 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
15940 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
15941 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
15942 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
15944 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
15945 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
15946 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
15947 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
15949 @item gnus-soup-packer
15950 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
15951 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15952 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
15954 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
15955 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
15956 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15957 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15959 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
15960 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
15961 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
15963 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15964 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15965 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
15966 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
15972 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
15975 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
15976 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
15977 you can read them at leisure.
15979 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
15983 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
15984 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
15985 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
15986 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
15988 @item nnsoup-directory
15989 @vindex nnsoup-directory
15990 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
15991 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
15993 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
15994 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
15995 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
15996 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
15998 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
15999 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16000 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16001 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16002 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16004 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16005 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16006 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16007 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16009 @item nnsoup-active-file
16010 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16011 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16012 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16013 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16014 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16016 @item nnsoup-packer
16017 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16018 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16019 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16021 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16022 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16023 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16024 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16026 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16027 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16028 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16031 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16032 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16033 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16036 @item nnsoup-always-save
16037 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16038 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16044 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16046 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16047 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16048 more for that to happen.
16050 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16051 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16052 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16055 In specific, this is what it does:
16058 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16059 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16062 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16063 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16064 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16067 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16068 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16069 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16072 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16073 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16074 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16076 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16082 @item nngateway-address
16083 @vindex nngateway-address
16084 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16086 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16087 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16088 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16089 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16090 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16091 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16092 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16095 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16096 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16097 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16100 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16103 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16106 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16109 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16111 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16114 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16115 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16116 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16118 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16120 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16121 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16122 @code{nngateway-address}.
16127 (setq gnus-post-method
16129 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16130 (nngateway-header-transformation
16131 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16139 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16142 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16147 @node Combined Groups
16148 @section Combined Groups
16150 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16154 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16155 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16159 @node Virtual Groups
16160 @subsection Virtual Groups
16162 @cindex virtual groups
16163 @cindex merging groups
16165 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16168 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16169 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16170 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16172 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16173 regexp to match component groups.
16175 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16176 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16177 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16178 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16179 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16180 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16181 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16182 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16184 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16185 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16188 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16191 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16192 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16194 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16195 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16196 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16197 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16200 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16203 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16204 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16205 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16207 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16208 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16209 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16210 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16211 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16213 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16214 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16215 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16217 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16218 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16219 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16220 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16221 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16222 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16223 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16224 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16225 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16226 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16227 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16229 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16230 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16231 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16232 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16233 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16234 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16235 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16237 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16238 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16240 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16241 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16245 @node Kibozed Groups
16246 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16250 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16251 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16252 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16253 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16255 @kindex G k (Group)
16256 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16259 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16260 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16261 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16262 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16264 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16265 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16266 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16268 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16269 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16270 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16271 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16272 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16273 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16274 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16275 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16277 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16278 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16279 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16280 Stranger things have happened.
16282 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16283 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16285 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16286 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16287 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16288 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16289 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16290 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16292 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16293 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16296 @node Gnus Unplugged
16297 @section Gnus Unplugged
16302 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16304 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16305 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16306 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16307 read news. Believe it or not.
16309 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16310 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16311 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16312 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16313 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16315 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16316 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16317 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16318 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16319 reading news on a machine.
16321 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16322 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16324 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16327 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16328 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16329 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16330 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16331 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16332 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16333 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16334 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16335 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16336 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16337 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16342 @subsection Agent Basics
16344 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16346 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16347 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16348 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16349 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16351 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16352 connected to the net continuously.
16354 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16355 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16357 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16362 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16363 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16364 already fetched while in this mode.
16367 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16368 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16369 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16370 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16371 Source Specifiers}).
16374 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16375 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16376 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16377 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16378 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16381 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16382 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16383 then you read the news offline.
16386 And then you go to step 2.
16389 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16395 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16396 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16397 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16398 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16399 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16400 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16401 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16402 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16405 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16412 @node Agent Categories
16413 @subsection Agent Categories
16415 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16416 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16417 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16418 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16419 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16420 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16421 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16423 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16424 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16425 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16426 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16427 managing categories.
16430 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16431 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16432 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16436 @node Category Syntax
16437 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16439 A category consists of two things.
16443 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16444 are eligible for downloading; and
16447 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16448 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16449 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16452 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16453 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16454 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16455 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16457 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16458 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16459 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16461 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16462 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16463 operators sprinkled in between.
16465 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16467 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16468 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16474 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16475 short (for some value of ``short'').
16477 Here's a more complex predicate:
16486 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16487 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16490 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16491 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16492 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16494 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16495 you want to do, you can write your own.
16499 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16500 lines; default 100.
16503 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16504 lines; default 200.
16507 True iff the article has a download score less than
16508 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16511 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16512 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16515 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16516 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16517 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16526 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16527 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16528 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16531 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16532 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16533 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16534 something along the lines of the following:
16537 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16538 "Say whether an article is old."
16539 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16540 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16543 with the predicate then defined as:
16546 (not my-article-old-p)
16549 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16550 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16554 (require 'gnus-agent)
16555 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16556 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16557 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16560 and simply specify your predicate as:
16566 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16567 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16568 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16569 just don't give a damn.
16571 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16572 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16573 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16574 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16575 parameters like so:
16578 (agent-predicate . short)
16581 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16582 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16583 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16585 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16588 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16591 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16592 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16593 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16596 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16597 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16598 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16599 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16600 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16601 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16603 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16604 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16605 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16606 if it's to be specific to that group.
16608 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16615 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16616 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16622 Category specification
16626 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16632 Group Parameter specification
16635 (agent-score ("from"
16636 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16641 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16647 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16654 Category specification
16657 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16663 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16667 Group Parameter specification
16670 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16673 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16678 Use @code{normal} score files
16680 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16681 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16682 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16683 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16685 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16686 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16687 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16688 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16692 Category Specification
16699 Group Parameter specification
16702 (agent-score . file)
16707 @node Category Buffer
16708 @subsubsection Category Buffer
16710 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
16711 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
16712 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
16714 The following commands are available in this buffer:
16718 @kindex q (Category)
16719 @findex gnus-category-exit
16720 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
16723 @kindex k (Category)
16724 @findex gnus-category-kill
16725 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
16728 @kindex c (Category)
16729 @findex gnus-category-copy
16730 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
16733 @kindex a (Category)
16734 @findex gnus-category-add
16735 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
16738 @kindex p (Category)
16739 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
16740 Edit the predicate of the current category
16741 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
16744 @kindex g (Category)
16745 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
16746 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
16747 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
16750 @kindex s (Category)
16751 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
16752 Edit the download score rule of the current category
16753 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
16756 @kindex l (Category)
16757 @findex gnus-category-list
16758 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
16762 @node Category Variables
16763 @subsubsection Category Variables
16766 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
16767 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
16768 Hook run in category buffers.
16770 @item gnus-category-line-format
16771 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
16772 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
16773 Variables}). Valid elements are:
16777 The name of the category.
16780 The number of groups in the category.
16783 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
16784 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
16785 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
16787 @item gnus-agent-short-article
16788 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
16789 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
16791 @item gnus-agent-long-article
16792 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
16793 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
16795 @item gnus-agent-low-score
16796 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
16797 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
16800 @item gnus-agent-high-score
16801 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
16802 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
16808 @node Agent Commands
16809 @subsection Agent Commands
16811 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
16812 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
16813 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
16817 * Group Agent Commands::
16818 * Summary Agent Commands::
16819 * Server Agent Commands::
16822 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
16823 following incantation:
16825 @cindex gnus-agent-batch
16827 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch
16832 @node Group Agent Commands
16833 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
16837 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
16838 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
16839 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
16840 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
16843 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
16844 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
16845 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
16848 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
16849 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
16850 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
16851 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
16854 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
16855 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
16856 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
16857 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
16860 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
16861 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
16862 Add the current group to an Agent category
16863 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
16864 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16867 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
16868 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
16869 Remove the current group from its category, if any
16870 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
16871 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16874 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
16875 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16876 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
16882 @node Summary Agent Commands
16883 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
16887 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
16888 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
16889 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
16892 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
16893 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
16894 Remove the downloading mark from the article
16895 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
16898 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
16899 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
16900 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
16903 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
16904 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
16905 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
16908 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
16909 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
16910 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
16911 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
16916 @node Server Agent Commands
16917 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
16921 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
16922 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
16923 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
16924 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
16927 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
16928 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
16929 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
16930 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
16935 @node Agent as Cache
16936 @subsection Agent as Cache
16938 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
16939 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
16940 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
16941 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
16942 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
16943 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
16944 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
16945 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
16946 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
16948 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
16949 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
16952 @subsection Agent Expiry
16954 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
16955 @findex gnus-agent-expire
16956 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
16957 @cindex Agent expiry
16958 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
16961 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
16962 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
16963 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
16964 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
16965 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
16966 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
16968 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
16969 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
16970 expiry in different groups.
16973 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
16979 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
16980 method---it must always match all groups.
16982 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
16983 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
16984 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
16985 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
16986 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
16988 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
16989 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
16990 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
16991 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
16993 @node Agent and IMAP
16994 @subsection Agent and IMAP
16996 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
16997 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
16998 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
16999 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
17001 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
17002 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
17003 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
17004 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
17006 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
17007 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
17008 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
17009 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
17011 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17012 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
17013 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
17014 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
17015 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
17016 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
17018 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
17019 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
17020 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
17021 in the group buffer.
17023 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
17024 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
17029 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
17032 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
17036 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
17037 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
17038 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
17039 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
17040 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
17041 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
17042 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
17043 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
17046 @node Outgoing Messages
17047 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17049 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17050 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17051 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17053 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17054 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17055 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17056 messages in the draft group.
17060 @node Agent Variables
17061 @subsection Agent Variables
17064 @item gnus-agent-directory
17065 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
17066 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
17067 @file{~/News/agent/}.
17069 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
17070 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17071 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17072 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17073 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17076 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17077 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17078 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17080 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17081 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17082 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17084 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17085 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17086 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
17088 @item gnus-agent-cache
17089 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17090 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17091 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17092 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17094 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17095 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17096 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17097 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17098 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17099 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17100 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17103 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
17104 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
17105 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
17106 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
17107 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
17108 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
17109 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
17110 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
17111 is only valid if the Agent is used.
17116 @node Example Setup
17117 @subsection Example Setup
17119 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17120 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17121 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17124 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17125 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17126 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17128 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17129 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17130 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17132 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17133 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17135 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17136 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17137 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17140 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17141 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17144 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17145 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17146 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17147 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17148 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17151 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17152 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17153 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17154 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17155 back all the killed groups.)
17157 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17158 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17159 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17162 @node Batching Agents
17163 @subsection Batching Agents
17165 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17166 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17167 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17171 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
17175 @node Agent Caveats
17176 @subsection Agent Caveats
17178 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17179 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17183 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17187 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17189 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
17193 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17194 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP and also uses the
17195 locally stored articles.
17202 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17203 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17204 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17207 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17208 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17209 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17210 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17211 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17213 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17214 before generating the summary buffer.
17216 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17217 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17218 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17220 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17221 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17222 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17223 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17226 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17227 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17228 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17229 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17230 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17231 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17232 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17233 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17234 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17235 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17236 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17237 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17238 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17239 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17240 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17241 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17242 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17246 @node Summary Score Commands
17247 @section Summary Score Commands
17248 @cindex score commands
17250 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17251 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17252 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17253 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17254 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17256 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17257 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17258 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17259 score file the current one.
17261 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17266 @kindex V s (Summary)
17267 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17268 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17271 @kindex V S (Summary)
17272 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17273 Display the score of the current article
17274 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17277 @kindex V t (Summary)
17278 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17279 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17280 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17283 @kindex V w (Summary)
17284 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17285 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17288 @kindex V R (Summary)
17289 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17290 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17291 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17292 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17293 effect you're having.
17296 @kindex V c (Summary)
17297 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17298 Make a different score file the current
17299 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17302 @kindex V e (Summary)
17303 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17304 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17305 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17309 @kindex V f (Summary)
17310 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17311 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17312 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17315 @kindex V F (Summary)
17316 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17317 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17318 after editing score files.
17321 @kindex V C (Summary)
17322 @findex gnus-score-customize
17323 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17324 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17328 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17333 @kindex V m (Summary)
17334 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17335 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17336 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17339 @kindex V x (Summary)
17340 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17341 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17342 expunge all articles below this score
17343 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17346 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17347 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17350 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17351 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17355 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17356 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17358 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17359 keys are available:
17363 Score on the author name.
17366 Score on the subject line.
17369 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17372 Score on the @code{References} line.
17378 Score on the number of lines.
17381 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17384 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17385 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17388 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17389 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17390 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17399 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17405 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17406 what headers you are scoring on.
17418 Substring matching.
17421 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17450 Greater than number.
17455 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17456 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17457 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17462 Temporary score entry.
17465 Permanent score entry.
17468 Immediately scoring.
17472 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17473 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17474 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17478 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17479 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17480 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17481 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17483 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17484 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17485 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17486 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17487 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17489 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17490 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17491 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17492 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17493 current score file.
17495 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17496 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17497 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17500 @node Group Score Commands
17501 @section Group Score Commands
17502 @cindex group score commands
17504 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17509 @kindex W f (Group)
17510 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17511 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17512 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17513 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17517 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17519 @findex gnus-batch-score
17520 @cindex batch scoring
17522 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17526 @node Score Variables
17527 @section Score Variables
17528 @cindex score variables
17532 @item gnus-use-scoring
17533 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17534 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17535 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17537 @item gnus-kill-killed
17538 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17539 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17540 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17541 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17542 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17543 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17544 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17546 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17547 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17548 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17549 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17550 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17552 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17553 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17554 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17555 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17557 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17558 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17559 @cindex score cache
17560 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17561 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17562 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
17563 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17564 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17565 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17568 @item gnus-save-score
17569 @vindex gnus-save-score
17570 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17571 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17572 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17574 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17575 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17576 across group visits.
17578 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17579 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17580 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17581 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17582 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17583 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17584 manually entered data.
17586 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17587 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17588 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17590 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17591 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17592 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17593 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17594 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17595 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17597 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17598 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17599 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17600 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17602 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17603 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17604 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17605 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17607 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17608 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17609 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17610 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17612 Predefined functions available are:
17615 @item gnus-score-find-single
17616 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17617 Only apply the group's own score file.
17619 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17620 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17621 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17622 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17623 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
17624 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
17625 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
17626 then a regexp match is done.
17628 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
17629 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
17631 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
17632 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
17633 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
17634 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
17636 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17637 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17638 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
17639 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
17640 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
17644 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
17645 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
17646 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
17647 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
17648 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
17649 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
17650 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
17653 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
17654 overall score file, you could use the value
17656 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
17657 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
17660 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
17661 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
17662 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
17663 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
17664 are expired. It's 7 by default.
17666 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17667 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17668 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
17669 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
17670 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
17671 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
17672 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
17673 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
17675 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17676 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17677 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
17679 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
17680 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
17681 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
17682 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
17683 threading---according to the current value of
17684 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
17685 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
17686 simplified in this manner.
17691 @node Score File Format
17692 @section Score File Format
17693 @cindex score file format
17695 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
17696 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
17697 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
17699 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
17703 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
17705 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
17707 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
17709 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
17714 (mark-and-expunge -10)
17718 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
17719 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
17720 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
17721 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
17725 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
17726 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
17728 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
17729 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
17730 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
17732 Six keys are supported by this alist:
17737 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
17738 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
17739 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
17740 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
17741 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
17742 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
17743 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
17744 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
17745 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
17746 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
17747 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
17748 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
17749 to articles that matches these score entries.
17751 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
17752 score entry has one to four elements.
17756 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
17757 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
17761 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
17762 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
17763 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
17764 is successful. If this element is not present, the
17765 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
17766 instead. This is 1000 by default.
17769 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
17770 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
17771 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
17772 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
17773 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
17776 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
17777 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
17778 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
17779 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
17782 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
17783 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
17784 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
17785 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
17786 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
17787 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
17788 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
17789 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
17790 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
17791 instead, if you feel like.
17794 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
17795 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
17796 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
17797 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
17798 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
17799 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
17802 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
17806 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
17807 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
17809 These predicates are true if
17812 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
17815 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
17816 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
17823 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
17824 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
17825 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
17826 it's not. I think.)
17828 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
17829 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
17830 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
17831 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
17834 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
17835 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
17836 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
17837 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
17838 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
17839 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
17840 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
17844 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
17845 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
17846 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
17847 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
17848 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
17849 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
17850 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
17851 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
17854 @item Head, Body, All
17855 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
17859 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
17860 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
17861 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
17862 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
17863 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
17864 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
17865 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
17869 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
17870 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
17871 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
17872 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
17873 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
17874 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
17875 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
17876 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
17877 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
17878 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
17879 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
17883 @cindex Score File Atoms
17885 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17886 lower than this number will be marked as read.
17889 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17890 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
17892 @item mark-and-expunge
17893 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17894 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
17897 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
17898 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
17899 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
17900 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
17901 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
17904 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
17905 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
17908 @item exclude-files
17909 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
17910 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
17914 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
17915 ignored when handling global score files.
17918 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
17919 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
17920 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
17921 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
17924 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
17925 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
17926 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
17927 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
17929 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
17933 (mark-and-expunge -100)
17936 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
17937 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
17938 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
17939 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
17940 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
17942 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
17943 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
17944 scoring rules exist.
17947 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
17948 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
17949 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
17950 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
17951 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
17952 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
17953 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17954 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
17955 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
17956 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
17957 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
17961 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
17962 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
17963 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
17964 file for a number of groups.
17967 @cindex local variables
17968 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
17969 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
17970 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
17971 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
17972 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
17976 @node Score File Editing
17977 @section Score File Editing
17979 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
17980 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
17981 with a mode for that.
17983 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
17984 additional commands:
17989 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
17990 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
17991 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
17992 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
17995 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
17996 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
17997 Insert the current date in numerical format
17998 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
17999 you were wondering.
18002 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
18003 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
18004 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
18005 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
18006 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
18011 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
18013 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
18014 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
18016 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
18017 e} to begin editing score files.
18020 @node Adaptive Scoring
18021 @section Adaptive Scoring
18022 @cindex adaptive scoring
18024 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
18025 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
18026 stupidity, to be precise.
18028 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
18029 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
18030 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
18031 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
18032 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18033 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
18034 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
18035 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
18036 variable to @code{(word line)}.
18038 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18039 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
18040 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
18041 might look something like this:
18044 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18045 '((gnus-unread-mark)
18046 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
18047 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
18048 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
18049 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
18050 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
18051 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
18052 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
18053 (gnus-ancient-mark)
18054 (gnus-low-score-mark)
18055 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
18058 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
18059 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
18060 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
18061 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
18062 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
18063 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
18066 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
18067 will be applied to each article.
18069 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
18070 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
18071 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
18072 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
18074 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
18075 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
18076 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
18077 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
18079 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
18080 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18081 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18082 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18084 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18085 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18086 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18087 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18088 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18089 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18091 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
18092 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
18093 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
18094 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
18095 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
18096 aspirins afterwards.)
18098 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18099 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18100 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18102 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18103 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18104 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18106 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18107 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18108 let you use different rules in different groups.
18110 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18111 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18112 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18115 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18116 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18117 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18118 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18119 the length of the match is less than
18120 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18121 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18124 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18125 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18126 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18127 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18128 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18131 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18132 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18133 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18134 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18135 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18138 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18139 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18140 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18141 score with 30 points.
18143 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18144 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18145 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18146 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18147 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18149 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18150 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18151 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18152 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18153 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
18155 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18156 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18157 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18158 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18160 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18161 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18162 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18163 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18165 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18166 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18167 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18168 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18169 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18171 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18172 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18173 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18175 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18176 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18177 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18178 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18181 @node Home Score File
18182 @section Home Score File
18184 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18185 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18186 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18187 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18189 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18190 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18191 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18193 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18194 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18199 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18203 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18204 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18208 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18212 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18213 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18216 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18217 the home score file.
18220 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18223 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18228 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18231 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18232 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18235 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18236 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18238 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18240 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18241 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18244 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18245 Other functions include
18248 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18249 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18250 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18251 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18255 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18256 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18257 their own home score files:
18260 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18261 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18262 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18263 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18264 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18267 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18268 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18269 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18270 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18271 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18273 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18274 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18275 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18276 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18277 precedence over this variable.
18280 @node Followups To Yourself
18281 @section Followups To Yourself
18283 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18284 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18285 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18286 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18287 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18288 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18292 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18293 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18294 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18297 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18298 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18299 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18303 @vindex message-sent-hook
18304 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18305 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18307 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18311 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18312 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18316 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18317 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18320 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18321 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18326 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18330 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18331 is system-dependent.
18334 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18335 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18336 @cindex scoring on other headers
18338 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18339 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18340 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18341 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18342 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18344 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18345 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18346 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18347 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18348 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18350 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18353 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18354 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18357 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18358 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18359 time if you have much mail.
18361 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18362 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18368 @section Scoring Tips
18369 @cindex scoring tips
18375 @cindex scoring crossposts
18376 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18377 the @code{Xref} header.
18379 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18382 @item Multiple crossposts
18383 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18384 more than, say, 3 groups:
18387 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18391 @item Matching on the body
18392 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18393 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18394 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18395 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18396 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18397 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18398 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18401 @item Marking as read
18402 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18403 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18404 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18408 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18410 @item Negated character classes
18411 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18412 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18413 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18417 @node Reverse Scoring
18418 @section Reverse Scoring
18419 @cindex reverse scoring
18421 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18422 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18423 like this in your score file:
18427 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18432 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18433 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18436 @node Global Score Files
18437 @section Global Score Files
18438 @cindex global score files
18440 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18441 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18442 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18444 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18445 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18446 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18448 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18449 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18450 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18451 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18452 files are applicable to which group.
18454 To use the score file
18455 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18456 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18460 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18461 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18462 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18465 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18467 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18468 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18469 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18470 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18472 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18473 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18475 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18476 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18477 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18478 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18479 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18480 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18482 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18488 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18490 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18492 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18494 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18495 lowered out of existence.
18497 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18498 articles completely.
18501 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18502 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18503 old articles for a long time.
18506 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18507 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18508 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18509 holding our breath yet?
18513 @section Kill Files
18516 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18517 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18518 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18520 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18521 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18522 files into score files.
18524 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18525 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18526 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18527 that isn't a very good idea.
18529 Normal kill files look like this:
18532 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18533 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18537 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18538 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18540 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18541 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18544 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18549 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18550 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18551 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18554 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18555 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18556 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18559 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18564 @kindex M-k (Group)
18565 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18566 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18569 @kindex M-K (Group)
18570 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18571 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18574 Kill file variables:
18577 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18578 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18579 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18580 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18581 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18582 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18583 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18585 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18586 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18587 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18588 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
18591 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
18592 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
18593 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
18594 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
18595 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18596 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18597 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18598 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18599 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18601 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18602 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18603 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18608 @node Converting Kill Files
18609 @section Converting Kill Files
18611 @cindex converting kill files
18613 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18614 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18615 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18618 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18619 You can fetch it from
18620 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18622 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18623 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18624 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
18632 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
18633 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
18634 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
18635 news articles generated every day.
18637 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
18638 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
18639 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
18640 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
18641 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
18642 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
18643 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
18644 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
18647 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
18648 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
18651 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
18652 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
18653 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
18654 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
18658 @node Using GroupLens
18659 @subsection Using GroupLens
18661 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
18663 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
18664 better bit in town at the moment.
18666 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
18670 @item gnus-use-grouplens
18671 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
18672 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
18673 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
18675 @item grouplens-pseudonym
18676 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
18677 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
18678 with the Better Bit Bureau.
18680 @item grouplens-newsgroups
18681 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
18682 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
18686 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
18687 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
18688 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
18689 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
18690 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
18691 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
18694 @node Rating Articles
18695 @subsection Rating Articles
18697 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
18698 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
18699 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
18700 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
18703 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
18708 @kindex r (GroupLens)
18709 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
18710 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
18713 @kindex k (GroupLens)
18714 @findex grouplens-score-thread
18715 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
18716 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
18717 threads in rec.humor.
18721 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
18722 the score of the article you're reading.
18727 @kindex n (GroupLens)
18728 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
18729 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
18732 @kindex , (GroupLens)
18733 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
18734 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
18738 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
18739 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
18742 @node Displaying Predictions
18743 @subsection Displaying Predictions
18745 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
18746 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
18747 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
18748 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
18749 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
18751 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
18752 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
18753 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
18754 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
18755 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
18756 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
18757 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
18758 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
18759 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
18760 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
18761 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
18762 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
18763 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
18765 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
18766 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
18767 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
18768 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
18770 The following are valid values for that variable.
18773 @item prediction-spot
18774 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
18777 @item confidence-interval
18778 A numeric confidence interval.
18780 @item prediction-bar
18781 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
18783 @item confidence-bar
18784 Numerical confidence.
18786 @item confidence-spot
18787 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
18789 @item prediction-num
18790 Plain-old numeric value.
18792 @item confidence-plus-minus
18793 Prediction +/- confidence.
18798 @node GroupLens Variables
18799 @subsection GroupLens Variables
18803 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
18804 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
18805 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
18806 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
18809 @item grouplens-bbb-host
18810 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
18813 @item grouplens-bbb-port
18814 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
18816 @item grouplens-score-offset
18817 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
18818 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
18821 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
18822 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
18823 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
18828 @node Advanced Scoring
18829 @section Advanced Scoring
18831 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
18832 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
18833 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
18834 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
18835 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
18837 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
18841 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
18842 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
18843 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
18847 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
18848 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
18850 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
18851 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
18852 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
18853 non-@code{nil} value.
18855 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
18856 operator, and various match operators.
18863 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18864 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
18865 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
18870 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18871 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
18872 then this operator will return @code{false}.
18877 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
18878 logical negation of the value of its argument.
18882 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
18883 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
18884 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
18885 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
18886 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
18887 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
18888 the ancestry you want to go.
18890 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
18891 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
18892 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
18893 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
18894 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
18897 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
18898 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
18900 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
18901 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
18904 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
18905 when he's talking about Gnus:
18909 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18910 ("subject" "Gnus"))
18916 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
18920 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18927 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
18928 really don't want to read what he's written:
18932 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18933 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
18937 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
18938 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
18939 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
18946 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
18947 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
18948 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
18949 ("body" "white.*socks"))
18953 The possibilities are endless.
18956 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
18957 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
18959 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
18960 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
18961 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
18962 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
18963 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
18964 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
18965 @samp{subject}) first.
18967 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
18968 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
18979 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
18980 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
18986 ("subject" "Gnus")))
18993 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
18994 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
18999 @section Score Decays
19000 @cindex score decays
19003 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
19004 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
19005 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
19006 use them in any sensible way.
19008 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
19009 @findex gnus-decay-score
19010 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
19011 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
19012 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
19013 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
19014 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
19015 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
19016 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
19017 definition of that function:
19020 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
19022 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
19023 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
19026 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
19028 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
19030 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
19033 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
19034 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
19035 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
19036 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
19040 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
19043 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
19046 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
19050 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
19051 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
19052 the new score, which should be an integer.
19054 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
19055 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
19060 @include message.texi
19061 @chapter Emacs MIME
19062 @include emacs-mime.texi
19064 @include sieve.texi
19074 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
19075 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
19076 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
19077 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
19078 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
19079 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
19080 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
19081 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
19082 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19083 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19084 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19085 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19086 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19087 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19088 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19089 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19090 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19091 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19092 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19096 @node Process/Prefix
19097 @section Process/Prefix
19098 @cindex process/prefix convention
19100 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19101 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19103 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19104 command to be performed on.
19108 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19109 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19110 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19111 with the current one.
19113 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19114 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19115 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19117 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19118 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19121 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19122 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19124 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19127 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19128 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19129 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19130 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19132 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19133 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19134 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19135 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19136 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19137 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19138 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19139 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19141 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19142 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19143 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19144 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19145 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
19149 @section Interactive
19150 @cindex interaction
19154 @item gnus-novice-user
19155 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19156 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19157 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19158 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19159 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19162 @item gnus-expert-user
19163 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19164 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19165 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19166 matter how strange.
19168 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19169 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19170 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19171 is @code{t} by default.
19173 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19174 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19175 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19180 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19181 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19182 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19184 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19185 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19186 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19187 rule of 900 to the current article.
19189 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19190 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19191 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19192 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19193 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19194 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19195 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19197 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19198 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19199 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19200 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19201 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19202 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19203 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19204 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19205 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19207 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19208 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19209 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19211 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19215 @node Formatting Variables
19216 @section Formatting Variables
19217 @cindex formatting variables
19219 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19220 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19221 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19222 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19223 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19226 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19227 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19228 lots of percentages everywhere.
19231 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19232 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19233 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19234 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19235 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19236 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19237 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19238 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19241 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19242 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19243 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19244 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19245 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19246 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19247 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19248 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19250 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19251 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19253 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19254 @findex gnus-update-format
19255 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19256 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19257 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19258 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19262 @node Formatting Basics
19263 @subsection Formatting Basics
19265 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19266 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19267 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19269 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19270 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19271 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19272 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19273 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19276 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19277 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19278 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19279 less than 4 characters wide.
19281 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19282 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19285 @node Mode Line Formatting
19286 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19288 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19289 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19290 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19291 with the following two differences:
19296 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19299 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19300 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19301 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19302 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19303 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19304 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19305 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19310 @node Advanced Formatting
19311 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19313 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19314 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19315 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19316 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19318 These are the valid modifiers:
19323 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19327 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19332 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19335 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19340 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19343 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19346 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19349 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19355 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19360 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19361 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19362 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19363 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19364 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19365 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19366 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19368 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19369 last operation, padding.
19371 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
19372 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
19373 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
19374 @xref{Compilation}.
19377 @node User-Defined Specs
19378 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19380 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19381 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19382 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19383 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19384 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19385 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19386 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19387 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19388 should protect against that.
19390 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19391 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19393 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19394 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19395 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19396 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19400 @node Formatting Fonts
19401 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19403 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19404 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19405 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19406 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19409 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19410 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19411 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19412 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19413 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19414 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19416 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
19417 special @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}.
19418 If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on.
19419 The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
19420 symbols naming functions that return a string. When the mouse passes
19421 over text with this property set, a balloon window will appear and
19422 display the string. Please refer to @ref{(emacs)Help Echo} (in GNU
19423 Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in XEmacs) for
19424 more information on this.
19426 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19429 ;; Create three face types.
19430 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19431 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19433 ;; We want the article count to be in
19434 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19435 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19436 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19438 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19439 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19441 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19442 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19443 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19446 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19447 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19449 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19450 mode-line variables.
19452 @node Positioning Point
19453 @subsection Positioning Point
19455 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19456 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19457 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19459 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19461 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19462 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19463 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19465 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19466 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
19467 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19472 @subsection Tabulation
19474 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19475 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19476 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19477 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19479 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19480 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19482 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19483 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19484 This is the soft tabulator.
19486 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19487 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19488 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19491 @node Wide Characters
19492 @subsection Wide Characters
19494 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19495 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19496 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19498 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19499 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19500 these coutries, that's not true.
19502 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19503 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19504 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19505 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
19509 @node Window Layout
19510 @section Window Layout
19511 @cindex window layout
19513 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19515 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19516 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19517 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19518 @code{t} by default.
19520 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19521 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19523 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19524 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19525 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19528 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19529 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19530 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19534 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19535 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19536 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19537 possible names is listed below.
19539 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19540 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19543 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19547 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19548 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19549 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19550 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19551 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19552 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19553 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19554 size spec per split.
19556 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19557 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19558 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19559 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19560 present) gets focus.
19562 Here's a more complicated example:
19565 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19566 (summary 0.25 point)
19567 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19571 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19572 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19573 occupy, not a percentage.
19575 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19576 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19577 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19578 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19579 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19582 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19585 (article (horizontal 1.0
19590 (summary 0.25 point)
19595 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
19596 @code{horizontal} thingie?
19598 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19599 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19600 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19601 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19602 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19604 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19605 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19606 lines from the splits.
19608 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19612 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19613 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19614 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19615 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19616 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19617 size = number | frame-params
19618 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19621 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19622 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19623 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19624 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19626 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19627 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19628 @cindex window height
19629 @cindex window width
19630 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
19631 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
19632 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
19633 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
19634 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
19635 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
19637 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
19638 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
19639 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
19640 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
19642 @findex gnus-configure-frame
19643 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
19644 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
19645 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
19646 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
19647 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
19648 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
19649 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
19650 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
19651 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
19652 configuration list.
19655 (gnus-configure-frame
19659 (article 0.3 point))
19667 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
19668 @code{frame} split:
19671 (gnus-configure-frame
19674 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
19676 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
19677 (user-position . t)
19678 (left . -1) (top . 1))
19683 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
19684 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
19685 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
19686 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
19687 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
19688 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
19689 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
19690 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
19692 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
19693 be found in its default value.
19695 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
19696 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
19697 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
19701 (message (horizontal 1.0
19702 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
19704 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
19709 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
19710 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
19711 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
19716 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
19717 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
19718 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
19719 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
19720 (name . "Message"))
19721 (message 1.0 point))))
19724 @findex gnus-add-configuration
19725 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
19726 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
19727 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
19728 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
19731 (gnus-add-configuration
19732 '(article (vertical 1.0
19734 (summary .25 point)
19738 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
19739 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
19740 Gnus has been loaded.
19742 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
19743 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
19744 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
19745 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
19746 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
19748 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
19749 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
19750 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
19753 @subsection Example Window Configurations
19757 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
19758 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
19773 (gnus-add-configuration
19776 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19778 (summary 0.16 point)
19781 (gnus-add-configuration
19784 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19785 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
19791 @node Faces and Fonts
19792 @section Faces and Fonts
19797 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
19798 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
19799 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
19804 @section Compilation
19805 @cindex compilation
19806 @cindex byte-compilation
19808 @findex gnus-compile
19810 Remember all those line format specification variables?
19811 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
19812 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
19813 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
19814 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
19815 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
19818 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
19819 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
19820 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
19821 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
19822 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
19823 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
19824 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
19828 @section Mode Lines
19831 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
19832 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
19833 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
19834 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
19835 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
19836 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
19837 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
19840 @cindex display-time
19842 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
19843 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
19844 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
19845 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
19846 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
19847 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
19848 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
19849 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
19852 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
19854 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
19855 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
19857 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
19858 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
19859 (length display-time-string)))))
19862 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
19863 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
19864 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
19865 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
19866 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
19869 @node Highlighting and Menus
19870 @section Highlighting and Menus
19872 @cindex highlighting
19875 @vindex gnus-visual
19876 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
19877 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
19878 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
19881 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
19882 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
19885 @item group-highlight
19886 Do highlights in the group buffer.
19887 @item summary-highlight
19888 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
19889 @item article-highlight
19890 Do highlights in the article buffer.
19892 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
19894 Create menus in the group buffer.
19896 Create menus in the summary buffers.
19898 Create menus in the article buffer.
19900 Create menus in the browse buffer.
19902 Create menus in the server buffer.
19904 Create menus in the score buffers.
19906 Create menus in all buffers.
19909 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
19910 buffers, you could say something like:
19913 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
19916 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
19919 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
19922 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
19923 in all Gnus buffers.
19925 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
19928 @item gnus-mouse-face
19929 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
19930 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
19931 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
19935 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
19939 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
19940 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
19941 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
19943 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
19944 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
19945 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
19947 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
19948 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
19949 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
19951 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
19952 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
19953 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
19955 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
19956 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
19957 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
19959 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
19960 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
19961 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
19972 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
19973 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
19974 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
19975 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
19976 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
19980 @vindex gnus-carpal
19981 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
19982 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
19983 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
19988 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19989 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19990 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
19992 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
19993 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
19994 Face used on buttons.
19996 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
19997 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
19998 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
20000 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20001 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20002 Buttons in the group buffer.
20004 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20005 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20006 Buttons in the summary buffer.
20008 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20009 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20010 Buttons in the server buffer.
20012 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20013 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20014 Buttons in the browse buffer.
20017 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
20018 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
20019 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
20027 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
20028 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
20029 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
20030 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
20031 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
20033 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
20034 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
20035 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
20037 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
20038 been idle for thirty minutes:
20041 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
20044 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
20048 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
20051 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
20052 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
20053 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20055 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
20056 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
20057 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
20058 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20060 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
20061 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
20062 @var{idle} minutes.
20064 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
20065 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
20068 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
20069 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
20070 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
20072 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
20073 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
20074 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
20075 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
20077 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
20078 your @file{.gnus} file:
20080 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
20082 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20085 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20086 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20087 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20088 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20089 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20090 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20091 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20092 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20093 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20094 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20095 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
20097 @findex gnus-demon-init
20098 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20099 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20100 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20101 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20102 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20104 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20105 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20106 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20115 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20116 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20118 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20119 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20120 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20121 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20124 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20125 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20126 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20127 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20129 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20130 this will make spam disappear.
20132 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20135 @item gnus-use-nocem
20136 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20137 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20140 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20141 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20142 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20143 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20144 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20146 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20147 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20148 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20149 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20150 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20151 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20153 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20154 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20156 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20157 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20158 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20159 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20160 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20161 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20162 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20163 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20164 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20165 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20167 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20168 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20171 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20174 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20175 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20178 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20181 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20184 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20185 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20187 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20188 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20189 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20190 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20192 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20193 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20196 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20198 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20206 This might be dangerous, though.
20208 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20209 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20210 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20211 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20213 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20214 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20215 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20216 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20217 might then see old spam.
20219 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20220 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20221 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20222 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20223 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20226 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20227 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20228 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20229 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20233 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20234 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20235 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20236 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20243 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20244 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20245 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20247 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20248 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20249 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20250 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20251 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20252 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20253 @code{undo} function.
20255 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20256 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20257 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20258 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20259 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20260 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20261 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20262 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20263 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20264 never be totally undoable.
20266 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20267 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20269 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20270 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20271 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20272 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20276 @node Predicate Specifiers
20277 @section Predicate Specifiers
20278 @cindex predicate specifiers
20280 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20281 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20282 to type all that much.
20284 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20289 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20290 gnus-article-unread-p)
20293 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20294 functions all take one parameter.
20296 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20297 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20298 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20299 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20304 @section Moderation
20307 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20308 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20309 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20312 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20316 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20319 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20321 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20326 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20327 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20328 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20331 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20332 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20335 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20336 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20340 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20343 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20344 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20348 @node Image Enhancements
20349 @section Image Enhancements
20351 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20352 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20355 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20356 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20357 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20358 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
20359 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20372 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20373 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20374 over your shoulder as you read news.
20377 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
20378 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
20379 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
20380 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
20381 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
20386 @subsubsection Picon Basics
20388 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20397 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20398 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20399 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20400 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20401 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20402 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20403 @code{GIF} formats.
20406 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20407 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
20408 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
20409 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
20410 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
20412 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20413 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
20414 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
20415 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
20416 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
20417 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20419 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20420 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20423 @node Picon Requirements
20424 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
20426 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
20427 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
20428 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
20429 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
20431 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20432 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
20433 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
20434 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
20435 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
20436 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20439 @subsubsection Easy Picons
20441 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
20442 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
20445 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
20446 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
20449 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
20450 containing the Picons databases.
20452 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
20455 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20456 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
20461 @subsubsection Hard Picons
20469 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
20470 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
20471 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
20472 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
20473 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
20478 @item gnus-picons-database
20479 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20480 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
20481 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20482 subdirectories. This is only useful if
20483 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
20484 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
20486 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20487 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20488 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
20489 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
20490 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
20491 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
20492 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20494 @item gnus-picons-display-where
20495 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20496 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
20497 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
20498 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
20499 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
20500 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
20501 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
20503 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20504 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20505 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
20510 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
20511 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
20513 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
20514 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
20517 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20519 @item gnus-article-display-picons
20520 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
20521 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
20522 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
20524 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20525 @findex gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20526 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
20527 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the function name, not @code{xface})
20533 @node Picon Useless Configuration
20534 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
20542 The following variables offer further control over how things are
20543 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
20544 don't need to worry about.
20548 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
20549 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
20550 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20551 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20553 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
20554 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
20555 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
20556 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
20558 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
20559 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
20560 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20561 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20562 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20564 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20565 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20566 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
20567 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
20568 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
20569 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
20570 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
20571 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20573 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20574 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20575 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
20576 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
20577 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20579 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20580 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20581 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
20582 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
20583 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
20584 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
20585 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
20587 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20588 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20589 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
20590 Defaults to @code{nil}.
20592 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
20593 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
20594 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
20595 Defaults to @code{t}.
20597 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20598 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20599 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20600 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
20602 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
20603 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
20604 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
20606 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20607 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20608 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
20609 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
20611 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
20612 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
20614 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20615 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20616 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
20617 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
20618 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
20619 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
20620 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
20621 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
20632 @subsection Smileys
20637 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20642 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20643 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20645 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20646 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20649 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20652 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
20653 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20654 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20655 text and maps that to file names.
20657 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
20658 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
20659 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
20660 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
20661 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
20662 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
20664 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
20665 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
20667 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
20668 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
20669 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
20671 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20672 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
20676 @item smiley-data-directory
20677 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20678 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20680 @item smiley-flesh-color
20681 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
20682 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
20684 @item smiley-features-color
20685 @vindex smiley-features-color
20686 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20688 @item smiley-tongue-color
20689 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
20690 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
20692 @item smiley-circle-color
20693 @vindex smiley-circle-color
20694 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20696 @item smiley-mouse-face
20697 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
20698 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
20707 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20708 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20709 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20713 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20714 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20715 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20716 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20724 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20725 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20726 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20727 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20729 The variable that controls this is the
20730 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20731 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20732 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20733 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20734 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20736 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20737 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20738 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20739 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20742 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20743 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20744 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20745 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20746 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20747 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20748 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20749 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20751 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20754 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20755 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20757 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20758 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files
20759 in @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20760 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20761 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20762 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big.
20764 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
20765 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20766 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20768 Here's how you would typically use the former function. Put something
20769 like the folllowing in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20772 (setq message-required-news-headers
20773 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20774 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20777 Using the latter function would be something like this:
20780 (setq message-required-news-headers
20781 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20782 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20783 (gnus-x-face-from-file
20784 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
20789 @subsection Toolbar
20799 @item gnus-use-toolbar
20800 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
20801 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
20802 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
20803 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
20805 @item gnus-group-toolbar
20806 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
20807 The toolbar in the group buffer.
20809 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
20810 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
20811 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
20813 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20814 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20815 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
20821 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
20824 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20825 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20826 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
20827 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
20828 unusual directory structure.
20830 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20831 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20832 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
20833 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
20835 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20836 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20837 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
20838 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
20839 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
20840 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
20842 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20843 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20844 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
20858 @node Fuzzy Matching
20859 @section Fuzzy Matching
20860 @cindex fuzzy matching
20862 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
20863 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
20865 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
20866 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
20867 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
20869 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
20870 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
20871 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
20872 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
20873 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
20876 @node Thwarting Email Spam
20877 @section Thwarting Email Spam
20881 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20883 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
20884 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
20885 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
20886 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
20887 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
20888 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
20889 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
20890 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
20893 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
20894 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
20895 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
20896 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
20897 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
20898 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
20903 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
20904 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
20905 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
20908 @node Anti-Spam Basics
20909 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
20913 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20915 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
20916 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
20918 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
20919 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
20920 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
20921 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
20922 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
20923 part of the mail address.)
20926 (setq message-default-news-headers
20927 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
20930 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
20931 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
20936 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
20937 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
20938 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
20944 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
20945 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
20946 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
20947 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
20949 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
20950 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
20951 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
20952 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
20953 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
20954 your fancy split rule in this way:
20959 (to "larsi" "misc")
20963 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
20964 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
20965 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
20966 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
20967 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
20969 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
20970 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
20971 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
20972 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
20973 cosmic balance somewhat.
20975 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
20976 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
20977 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
20978 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
20983 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
20984 @cindex SpamAssassin
20985 @cindex Vipul's Razor
20988 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
20989 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
20990 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
20991 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
20992 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
20993 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
20994 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
20996 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
20997 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
20998 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
20999 Specifiers}) follows.
21003 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21006 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21009 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21010 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21011 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21014 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21018 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21021 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21022 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21026 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21027 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21028 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21029 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21032 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21034 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21036 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21037 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21039 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21041 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21042 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21046 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21047 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21048 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21051 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21052 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21054 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21055 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21056 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21060 @subsection Hashcash
21063 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21064 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21065 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21066 since it is not part of the internet standards, but it may be useful
21067 in smaller communities.
21069 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21070 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21071 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21072 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21073 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21074 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21075 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21076 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21077 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21078 one of them separately.
21081 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21082 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21083 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21084 header. For more details, and for the external application
21085 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21086 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21087 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21089 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21093 (require 'hashcash)
21094 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21097 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21098 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21099 development contrib directory.
21101 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21105 @item hashcash-default-payment
21106 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21107 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21108 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21109 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21111 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21112 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21113 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21114 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
21115 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
21116 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
21117 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21118 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21122 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21126 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21127 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21128 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21129 a useful contribution, however.
21131 @node Various Various
21132 @section Various Various
21138 @item gnus-home-directory
21139 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
21140 defaults to @file{~/}.
21142 @item gnus-directory
21143 @vindex gnus-directory
21144 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
21145 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
21146 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
21148 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
21149 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
21150 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
21151 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
21153 @item gnus-default-directory
21154 @vindex gnus-default-directory
21155 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
21156 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
21157 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
21158 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
21159 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
21160 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
21163 @vindex gnus-verbose
21164 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
21165 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
21166 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
21167 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
21168 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
21170 @item gnus-verbose-backends
21171 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
21172 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
21173 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
21175 @item nnheader-max-head-length
21176 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
21177 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
21178 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
21179 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
21180 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
21181 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
21182 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
21183 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
21184 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
21186 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
21187 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
21188 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
21189 read when doing the operation described above.
21191 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21192 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21194 @cindex invalid characters in file names
21195 @cindex characters in file names
21196 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
21197 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
21198 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
21201 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21205 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
21206 Windows (phooey) systems.
21208 @item gnus-hidden-properties
21209 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
21210 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
21211 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
21212 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
21214 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
21215 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
21216 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
21217 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
21218 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
21220 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
21221 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
21222 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
21224 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21225 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21227 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
21228 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
21229 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
21230 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
21233 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
21241 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
21242 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
21244 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
21246 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
21252 Not because of victories @*
21255 but for the common sunshine,@*
21257 the largess of the spring.
21261 but for the day's work done@*
21262 as well as I was able;@*
21263 not for a seat upon the dais@*
21264 but at the common table.@*
21269 @chapter Appendices
21272 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
21273 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
21274 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
21275 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
21276 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
21277 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
21278 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
21279 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
21280 * Frequently Asked Questions::
21287 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
21289 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
21290 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
21291 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
21292 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
21293 @samp{xemacs-base}, and @samp{fsf-compat}.
21300 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
21301 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
21303 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
21304 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
21305 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
21306 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
21307 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
21309 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
21310 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
21311 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
21312 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
21313 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
21314 appropriate name, don't you think?)
21316 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
21317 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
21318 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
21319 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
21322 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
21323 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
21324 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
21325 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
21326 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
21327 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
21328 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
21329 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
21330 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
21334 @node Gnus Versions
21335 @subsection Gnus Versions
21337 @cindex September Gnus
21339 @cindex Quassia Gnus
21340 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
21344 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
21345 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
21346 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
21348 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
21349 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
21351 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
21352 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
21354 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
21355 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
21357 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
21358 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
21361 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
21363 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
21364 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
21365 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
21366 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
21367 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
21368 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
21371 @node Other Gnus Versions
21372 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
21375 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
21376 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
21377 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
21378 @sc{mime} capabilities.
21380 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
21381 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
21382 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
21383 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
21390 What's the point of Gnus?
21392 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
21393 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
21394 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
21395 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
21396 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
21397 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
21398 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
21399 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
21400 keep track of millions of people who post?
21402 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
21403 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
21404 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
21405 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
21406 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
21407 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
21408 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
21409 every one of you to explore and invent.
21411 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
21412 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
21415 @node Compatibility
21416 @subsection Compatibility
21418 @cindex compatibility
21419 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
21420 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
21421 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
21426 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
21430 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
21433 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
21436 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
21437 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
21438 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
21439 important variables have their values copied into their global
21440 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
21441 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
21443 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
21444 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
21445 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
21446 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
21447 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
21451 @cindex highlighting
21452 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
21453 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
21454 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
21455 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
21456 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
21457 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
21460 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
21461 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
21462 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
21463 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
21465 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
21466 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
21467 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
21468 to stop doing it the old way.
21470 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
21472 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21474 @cindex reporting bugs
21476 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
21477 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
21478 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
21480 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
21481 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
21482 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
21483 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
21488 @subsection Conformity
21490 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
21491 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
21499 There are no known breaches of this standard.
21503 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
21505 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
21506 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
21507 We do have some breaches to this one.
21513 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
21514 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
21515 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
21516 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
21517 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
21522 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
21523 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
21524 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
21525 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
21527 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
21529 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
21531 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
21532 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
21534 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
21537 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
21538 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
21539 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
21540 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
21541 decoding (verification and decryption).
21543 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
21544 RFC 2015 (superceded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
21545 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
21546 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
21548 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
21549 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
21551 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
21552 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
21553 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
21554 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
21555 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
21556 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
21557 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
21561 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
21562 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
21567 @subsection Emacsen
21573 Gnus should work on :
21581 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
21585 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
21586 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
21589 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
21590 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
21591 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
21595 @node Gnus Development
21596 @subsection Gnus Development
21598 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
21599 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
21600 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
21601 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
21602 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
21603 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
21604 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
21605 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
21607 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
21608 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
21609 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
21610 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
21611 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
21614 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
21615 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
21616 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
21617 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
21618 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
21620 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
21621 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
21622 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
21623 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
21624 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
21625 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
21626 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
21627 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
21628 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
21629 can't be assumed to do so.
21634 @subsection Contributors
21635 @cindex contributors
21637 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
21638 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
21639 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
21640 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
21641 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
21642 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
21643 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
21644 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
21645 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
21646 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
21648 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
21654 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
21657 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
21658 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
21659 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
21660 functionality and stuff.
21663 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
21664 well as numerous other things).
21667 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
21670 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
21673 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
21676 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
21679 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
21680 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
21683 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
21686 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
21687 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
21690 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
21693 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
21696 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
21699 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
21702 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
21703 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
21706 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
21709 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
21712 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
21715 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
21719 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
21722 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
21725 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
21728 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
21729 well as autoconf support.
21733 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
21734 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
21736 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
21745 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
21749 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
21759 Alexei V. Barantsev,
21774 Massimo Campostrini,
21779 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
21780 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
21784 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
21787 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
21793 Michael Welsh Duggan,
21798 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
21802 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
21810 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
21812 Michelangelo Grigni,
21816 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
21818 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
21820 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
21827 François Felix Ingrand,
21828 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
21829 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
21831 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
21842 Peter Skov Knudsen,
21843 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
21845 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
21846 Thor Kristoffersen,
21849 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
21867 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
21868 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
21875 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
21880 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
21884 John McClary Prevost,
21890 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
21895 Christian von Roques,
21898 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
21905 Philippe Schnoebelen,
21907 Randal L. Schwartz,
21921 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
21926 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
21942 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
21947 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
21948 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
21949 (550kB and counting).
21951 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
21954 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
21955 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
21959 @subsection New Features
21960 @cindex new features
21963 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
21964 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
21965 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
21966 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
21967 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
21970 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
21971 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
21972 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
21975 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
21977 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
21982 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
21983 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
21986 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
21987 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
21990 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
21993 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
21994 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
21995 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
21998 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
21999 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
22000 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
22001 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
22004 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
22005 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22008 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
22009 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
22010 (@pxref{The Active File}).
22013 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
22014 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
22017 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
22018 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
22019 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
22022 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
22023 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
22024 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
22027 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
22028 the @file{.emacs} file.
22031 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
22032 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
22035 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
22036 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
22039 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
22040 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22043 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
22044 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
22047 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
22048 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
22051 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
22054 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
22055 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
22058 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
22059 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
22062 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
22063 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
22066 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
22069 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
22070 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22073 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
22077 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
22081 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
22082 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
22085 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
22091 @node September Gnus
22092 @subsubsection September Gnus
22096 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
22100 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
22105 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
22106 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
22110 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
22111 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
22115 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
22119 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
22120 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
22123 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
22127 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22130 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
22133 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
22136 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
22140 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
22141 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
22144 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
22148 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
22152 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
22156 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
22160 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
22163 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
22164 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
22167 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
22171 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
22172 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
22175 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
22178 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
22179 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
22180 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22183 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
22187 The Gnus cache is much faster.
22190 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
22194 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
22195 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
22198 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
22199 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
22202 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
22203 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
22206 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
22207 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
22208 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
22211 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
22212 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
22215 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
22218 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22221 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
22224 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
22227 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
22228 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
22231 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
22235 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
22238 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
22243 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
22246 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
22250 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22253 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
22257 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
22260 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
22263 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
22264 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
22267 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
22268 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
22272 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
22273 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
22276 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
22280 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
22281 buffer to allow easier treatment.
22284 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
22287 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
22291 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
22295 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
22296 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
22299 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
22303 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
22304 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22307 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
22308 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22311 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
22315 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22318 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
22321 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
22327 @subsubsection Red Gnus
22329 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
22333 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
22340 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
22343 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
22344 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
22347 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
22348 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
22352 Article washing status can be displayed in the
22353 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
22356 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
22359 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
22360 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
22363 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
22367 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
22368 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
22372 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
22373 Server Internals}).
22376 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
22380 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
22383 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
22384 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
22387 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
22388 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
22389 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
22392 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
22393 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22396 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
22397 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
22400 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
22404 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
22405 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22408 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
22409 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
22412 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
22416 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
22419 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
22423 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
22424 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22427 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
22428 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22431 A new command for reading collections of documents
22432 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
22433 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
22436 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
22440 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
22441 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
22444 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
22445 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
22446 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
22449 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
22450 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
22454 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
22458 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
22462 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
22467 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
22471 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
22475 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
22476 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
22479 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
22485 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
22487 New features in Gnus 5.6:
22492 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
22493 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
22494 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
22497 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
22498 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
22499 group, which is created automatically.
22502 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
22506 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
22509 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
22510 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
22513 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
22517 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
22520 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
22521 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
22524 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
22527 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
22528 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
22531 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
22532 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
22535 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
22536 control over simplification.
22539 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
22542 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
22546 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
22549 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
22552 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
22553 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
22554 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
22557 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
22558 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
22561 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
22565 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
22566 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
22569 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
22570 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
22573 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
22577 A history of where mails have been split is available.
22580 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
22583 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
22584 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
22587 A new function for citing in Message has been
22588 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
22591 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
22594 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
22598 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
22599 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
22602 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
22603 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
22606 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
22609 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
22613 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
22614 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
22616 New features in Gnus 5.8:
22621 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
22622 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
22624 If you used procmail like in
22627 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
22628 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
22629 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
22630 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
22633 this now has changed to
22637 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
22641 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
22642 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
22645 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
22646 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
22649 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
22650 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
22653 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
22654 called to position point.
22657 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
22658 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
22661 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
22662 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
22665 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
22666 subtly different manner.
22669 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
22670 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
22671 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
22674 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
22682 @section The Manual
22686 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
22687 either @code{texi2dvi}
22689 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
22690 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
22692 to get what you hold in your hands now.
22694 The following conventions have been used:
22699 This is a @samp{string}
22702 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
22705 This is a @file{file}
22708 This is a @code{symbol}
22712 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
22716 (setq flargnoze "yes")
22719 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
22722 (setq flumphel 'yes)
22725 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
22726 ever get them confused.
22730 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
22731 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
22732 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
22733 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
22734 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
22735 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
22736 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
22742 @node On Writing Manuals
22743 @section On Writing Manuals
22745 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
22746 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
22747 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
22748 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
22749 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
22750 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
22753 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
22754 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
22755 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
22758 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
22759 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
22764 @section Terminology
22766 @cindex terminology
22771 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
22772 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
22773 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
22774 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
22775 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
22779 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
22780 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
22781 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
22782 not posting, and replying is not following up.
22786 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
22790 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
22795 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
22796 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
22797 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
22798 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
22799 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
22800 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
22801 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
22802 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
22803 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
22805 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
22806 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
22807 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
22808 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
22809 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
22812 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
22813 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
22814 access the articles.
22816 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
22817 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
22818 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
22823 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
22824 default, way of getting news.
22828 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
22829 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
22834 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
22835 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
22839 A message that has been posted as news.
22842 @cindex mail message
22843 A message that has been mailed.
22847 A mail message or news article
22851 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
22856 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
22861 A line from the head of an article.
22865 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
22866 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
22870 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
22871 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
22872 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
22873 normal @sc{head} format.
22877 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
22878 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
22879 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
22880 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
22881 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
22882 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
22884 @item killed groups
22885 @cindex killed groups
22886 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
22887 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
22889 @item zombie groups
22890 @cindex zombie groups
22891 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
22894 @cindex active file
22895 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
22896 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
22897 is rather large, as you might surmise.
22900 @cindex bogus groups
22901 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
22902 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
22903 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
22906 @cindex activating groups
22907 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
22908 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
22909 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
22913 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
22915 @item select method
22916 @cindex select method
22917 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
22920 @item virtual server
22921 @cindex virtual server
22922 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
22923 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
22924 whole is a virtual server.
22928 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
22929 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
22932 @item ephemeral groups
22933 @cindex ephemeral groups
22934 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
22935 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
22936 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
22939 @cindex solid groups
22940 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
22941 group buffer are solid groups.
22943 @item sparse articles
22944 @cindex sparse articles
22945 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
22946 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
22950 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
22951 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
22955 @cindex thread root
22956 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
22957 articles in the thread.
22961 An article that has responses.
22965 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
22969 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
22970 specified by RFC 1153.
22976 @node Customization
22977 @section Customization
22978 @cindex general customization
22980 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
22981 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
22982 for some quite common situations.
22985 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
22986 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
22987 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
22988 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
22992 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
22993 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
22995 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
22996 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
22997 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
23001 @item gnus-read-active-file
23002 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
23003 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
23004 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
23005 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
23006 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
23008 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
23009 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
23010 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
23011 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
23015 @node Slow Terminal Connection
23016 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
23018 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
23019 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
23020 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
23024 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
23025 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
23026 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
23027 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
23028 horizontal and vertical recentering.
23030 @item gnus-visible-headers
23031 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
23032 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
23033 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
23034 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
23036 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
23038 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
23039 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
23040 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
23043 @item gnus-use-full-window
23044 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
23045 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
23046 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
23047 want to read them anyway.
23049 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
23050 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
23054 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
23055 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
23056 lines, which might save some time.
23060 @node Little Disk Space
23061 @subsection Little Disk Space
23064 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
23065 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
23069 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
23070 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
23071 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
23072 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
23075 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
23076 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
23077 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
23078 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
23081 @item gnus-save-killed-list
23082 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
23083 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
23084 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
23085 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
23091 @subsection Slow Machine
23092 @cindex slow machine
23094 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
23095 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
23097 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
23098 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
23100 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
23101 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
23102 summary buffer faster.
23106 @node Troubleshooting
23107 @section Troubleshooting
23108 @cindex troubleshooting
23110 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
23118 Make sure your computer is switched on.
23121 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
23122 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
23126 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
23127 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
23128 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
23129 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
23132 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
23136 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
23137 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
23138 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
23139 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
23140 something like that.
23143 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
23146 @cindex reporting bugs
23148 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
23150 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
23151 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
23152 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
23153 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
23155 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
23156 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
23157 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
23158 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
23161 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
23162 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
23163 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
23164 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
23165 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
23166 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
23168 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
23169 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
23170 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
23174 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
23175 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
23178 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
23179 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
23180 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
23181 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
23182 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
23183 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
23184 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
23185 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
23186 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
23187 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
23188 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
23189 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
23190 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
23191 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
23193 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
23194 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
23196 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
23197 @cindex ding mailing list
23198 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
23199 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
23203 @node Gnus Reference Guide
23204 @section Gnus Reference Guide
23206 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
23207 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
23208 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
23209 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
23212 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
23213 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
23214 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
23215 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
23216 and general methods of operation.
23219 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
23220 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
23221 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
23222 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
23223 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
23224 * Group Info:: The group info format.
23225 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
23226 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
23227 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
23231 @node Gnus Utility Functions
23232 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
23233 @cindex Gnus utility functions
23234 @cindex utility functions
23236 @cindex internal variables
23238 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
23239 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
23240 Below is a list of the most common ones.
23244 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
23245 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
23246 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
23248 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
23249 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
23250 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
23252 @item gnus-group-real-name
23253 @findex gnus-group-real-name
23254 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
23257 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
23258 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
23259 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
23260 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
23262 @item gnus-get-info
23263 @findex gnus-get-info
23264 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
23266 @item gnus-group-unread
23267 @findex gnus-group-unread
23268 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
23272 @findex gnus-active
23273 The active entry for @var{group}.
23275 @item gnus-set-active
23276 @findex gnus-set-active
23277 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
23279 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23280 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23281 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
23284 @item gnus-continuum-version
23285 @findex gnus-continuum-version
23286 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
23287 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
23290 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
23291 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
23292 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
23294 @item gnus-news-group-p
23295 @findex gnus-news-group-p
23296 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
23298 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23299 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23300 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
23302 @item gnus-server-to-method
23303 @findex gnus-server-to-method
23304 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
23306 @item gnus-server-equal
23307 @findex gnus-server-equal
23308 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
23310 @item gnus-group-native-p
23311 @findex gnus-group-native-p
23312 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
23314 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
23315 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
23316 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
23318 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
23319 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
23320 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
23322 @item group-group-find-parameter
23323 @findex group-group-find-parameter
23324 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
23325 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
23327 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
23328 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
23329 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
23331 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
23332 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
23333 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
23335 @item gnus-check-backend-function
23336 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
23337 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
23338 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
23341 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
23345 @item gnus-read-method
23346 @findex gnus-read-method
23347 Prompts the user for a select method.
23352 @node Back End Interface
23353 @subsection Back End Interface
23355 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
23356 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
23357 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
23358 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
23359 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
23360 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
23362 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
23363 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
23364 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
23365 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
23366 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
23367 been opened, the function should fail.
23369 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
23370 name. Take this example:
23374 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
23375 (nntp-port-number 4324))
23378 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
23379 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
23381 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
23382 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
23383 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
23385 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
23386 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
23387 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
23389 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
23390 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
23391 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
23392 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
23393 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
23394 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
23397 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
23398 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
23399 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
23400 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
23403 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
23404 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
23405 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
23406 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
23407 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
23408 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
23409 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
23410 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
23411 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
23412 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
23414 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
23415 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
23416 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
23417 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
23418 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
23419 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
23420 of numbers as long as possible.
23422 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
23425 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
23428 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
23429 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
23430 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
23431 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
23432 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
23433 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
23437 @node Required Back End Functions
23438 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
23442 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
23444 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
23445 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
23446 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
23447 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
23449 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
23450 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
23451 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
23452 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
23454 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
23455 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
23456 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
23457 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
23458 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
23459 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
23460 number, do maximum fetches.
23462 Here's an example HEAD:
23465 221 1056 Article retrieved.
23466 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
23467 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
23468 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
23469 Subject: Re: Something very droll
23470 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
23471 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
23473 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
23474 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
23475 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
23479 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
23480 these in the data buffer.
23482 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
23486 head = error / valid-head
23487 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
23488 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
23489 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
23490 header = <text> eol
23493 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
23494 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
23498 nov-buffer = *nov-line
23499 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
23500 field = <text except TAB>
23503 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
23507 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
23509 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
23510 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
23512 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
23513 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
23514 server. In fact, it should do so.
23516 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
23517 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
23520 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
23522 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
23523 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
23526 There should be no data returned.
23529 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
23531 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
23532 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
23533 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
23534 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
23536 There should be no data returned.
23539 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
23541 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
23542 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
23543 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
23544 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
23546 There should be no data returned.
23549 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
23551 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
23553 There should be no data returned.
23556 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
23558 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
23559 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
23560 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
23561 it would be nice if that were possible.
23563 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
23564 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
23565 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
23566 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
23567 into its article buffer.
23569 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
23570 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
23571 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
23572 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
23573 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
23574 on successful article retrieval.
23577 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
23579 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
23580 making @var{group} the current group.
23582 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
23585 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
23588 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
23591 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
23592 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
23593 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
23594 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
23595 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
23596 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
23597 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
23598 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
23599 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
23603 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
23604 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
23605 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
23609 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23611 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
23612 a no-op on most back ends.
23614 There should be no data returned.
23617 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
23619 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
23622 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
23625 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
23626 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
23629 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
23630 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
23631 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
23632 and the highest as 0.
23635 active-file = *active-line
23636 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
23638 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
23641 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
23642 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
23643 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
23646 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
23648 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
23649 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
23650 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
23651 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
23652 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
23653 clear if the posting could not be completed.
23655 There should be no result data from this function.
23660 @node Optional Back End Functions
23661 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
23665 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
23667 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
23668 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
23669 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
23671 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
23672 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
23673 former is in the same format as the data from
23674 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
23675 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
23678 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
23682 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
23684 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
23685 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
23686 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
23687 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
23688 should return the (altered) group info.
23690 There should be no result data from this function.
23693 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
23695 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
23696 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
23697 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
23698 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
23699 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
23700 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
23701 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
23702 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
23704 There should be no result data from this function.
23707 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
23709 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
23710 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
23711 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
23712 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
23713 propagate the mark information to the server.
23715 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
23718 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
23721 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
23722 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
23723 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
23724 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
23725 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
23726 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
23727 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
23728 possible, not limit itself to these.
23730 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
23731 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
23732 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
23733 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
23735 An example action list:
23738 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
23739 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
23740 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
23743 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
23744 mark on (currently not used for anything).
23746 There should be no result data from this function.
23748 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
23750 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
23751 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
23752 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
23753 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
23754 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
23756 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
23757 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
23758 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
23761 There should be no result data from this function.
23764 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
23766 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
23767 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
23768 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
23769 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
23770 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
23771 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
23772 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
23774 There should be no result data from this function.
23777 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
23779 The result data from this function should be a description of
23783 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
23785 description = <text>
23788 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
23790 The result data from this function should be the description of all
23791 groups available on the server.
23794 description-buffer = *description-line
23798 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
23800 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
23801 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
23802 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
23803 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
23804 in the active buffer format.
23806 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
23807 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
23808 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
23809 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
23810 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
23811 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
23812 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
23815 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23817 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
23819 There should be no return data.
23822 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
23824 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
23825 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
23826 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
23827 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
23828 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
23831 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
23834 There should be no result data returned.
23837 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
23840 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
23841 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
23843 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
23844 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
23845 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
23846 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
23847 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
23848 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
23850 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
23851 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
23854 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23855 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23857 There should be no data returned.
23860 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
23862 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
23863 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
23864 this function in short order.
23866 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23867 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23869 There should be no data returned.
23872 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
23874 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
23875 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
23877 There should be no data returned.
23880 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
23882 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
23883 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
23884 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
23886 There should be no data returned.
23889 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
23891 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
23892 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
23894 There should be no data returned.
23899 @node Error Messaging
23900 @subsubsection Error Messaging
23902 @findex nnheader-report
23903 @findex nnheader-get-report
23904 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
23905 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
23906 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
23907 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
23908 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
23909 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
23912 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
23914 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
23917 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
23918 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
23919 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
23920 takes one argument---the server symbol.
23922 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
23923 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
23924 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
23927 @node Writing New Back Ends
23928 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
23930 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
23931 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
23932 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
23933 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
23934 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
23937 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
23938 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
23939 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
23941 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
23942 package called @code{nnoo}.
23944 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
23945 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
23951 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
23952 parameters. For instance:
23955 (nnoo-declare nndir
23959 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
23960 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
23963 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
23964 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
23965 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
23967 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
23968 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
23969 a function in those back ends.
23972 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
23973 "Where nndir will look for groups."
23974 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
23977 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
23978 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
23979 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
23981 @item nnoo-define-basics
23982 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
23986 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
23990 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
23991 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
23992 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
23994 @item nnoo-map-functions
23995 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
23996 functions from the parent back ends.
23999 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
24000 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24001 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
24004 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
24005 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
24006 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
24007 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
24010 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
24011 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
24012 haven't already been defined.
24018 nnmh-request-newgroups)
24022 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
24023 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
24024 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
24029 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
24032 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
24033 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
24037 (require 'nnheader)
24041 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
24043 (nnoo-declare nndir
24046 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
24047 "Where nndir will look for groups."
24048 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
24050 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
24051 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
24054 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
24056 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
24057 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
24058 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
24060 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
24061 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
24063 ;;; Interface functions.
24065 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
24067 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
24068 (setq nndir-directory
24069 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
24071 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
24072 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
24073 (push `(nndir-current-group
24074 ,(file-name-nondirectory
24075 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
24077 (push `(nndir-top-directory
24078 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
24080 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
24082 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
24083 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24084 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24085 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
24086 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
24090 nnmh-status-message
24092 nnmh-request-newgroups))
24098 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
24099 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
24101 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
24102 @findex gnus-declare-backend
24103 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
24104 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
24105 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
24107 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
24108 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
24113 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
24116 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
24118 The abilities can be:
24122 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
24124 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
24126 This back end supports both mail and news.
24128 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
24131 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
24132 articles and groups.
24134 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
24135 true for almost all back ends.
24136 @item prompt-address
24137 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
24138 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
24139 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
24143 @node Mail-like Back Ends
24144 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
24146 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
24147 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
24148 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
24149 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
24152 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
24153 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
24154 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
24157 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
24158 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
24161 This function takes four parameters.
24165 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
24168 @item exit-function
24169 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
24171 @item temp-directory
24172 Where the temporary files should be stored.
24175 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
24176 performed for one group only.
24179 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
24180 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
24181 find the article number assigned to this article.
24183 The function also uses the following variables:
24184 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
24185 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
24186 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
24187 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
24191 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
24192 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
24196 @node Score File Syntax
24197 @subsection Score File Syntax
24199 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
24200 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
24201 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
24203 Here's a typical score file:
24207 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
24214 BNF definition of a score file:
24217 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
24218 element = rule / atom
24219 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
24220 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
24221 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
24222 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
24224 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
24225 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
24226 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
24227 date-header = "date"
24228 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24229 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24230 score = "nil" / <integer>
24231 date = "nil" / <natural number>
24232 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
24233 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
24234 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
24235 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
24236 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24237 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24238 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
24239 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24240 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
24241 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
24242 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
24243 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
24244 exclude-files / read-only / touched
24245 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
24246 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
24247 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
24248 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
24249 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
24250 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
24251 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
24252 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
24253 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
24254 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
24255 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
24256 eval = "eval" space <form>
24257 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
24260 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
24263 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
24264 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
24265 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
24266 one looong line, then that's ok.
24268 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
24269 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24273 @subsection Headers
24275 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
24276 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
24277 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
24278 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
24280 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
24281 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
24282 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
24283 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
24284 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
24285 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
24286 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
24288 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
24289 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
24290 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
24291 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
24292 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
24294 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
24295 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
24301 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
24302 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
24304 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
24305 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
24306 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
24307 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
24309 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
24313 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
24316 is transformed into
24319 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
24322 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
24323 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
24326 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
24329 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
24330 is slightly tricky:
24333 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
24339 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
24342 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
24348 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
24355 and is equal to the previous range.
24357 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
24358 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
24359 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
24363 range = simple-range / normal-range
24364 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
24365 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
24366 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
24367 number *[ " " contents ]
24370 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
24371 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
24372 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
24373 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
24374 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
24379 @subsection Group Info
24381 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
24382 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
24383 describes the group.
24385 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
24386 second is a more complex one:
24389 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
24391 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
24392 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
24394 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
24397 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
24398 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
24399 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
24400 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
24401 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
24402 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
24403 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
24404 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
24405 this section is about.
24407 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
24408 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
24409 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
24411 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
24414 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
24415 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
24416 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24417 group = quote <string> quote
24418 ralevel = rank / level
24419 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24420 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
24421 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24423 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
24424 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
24425 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
24426 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
24429 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
24430 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
24433 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
24434 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
24437 @item gnus-info-group
24438 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
24439 @findex gnus-info-group
24440 @findex gnus-info-set-group
24441 Get/set the group name.
24443 @item gnus-info-rank
24444 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
24445 @findex gnus-info-rank
24446 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
24447 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
24449 @item gnus-info-level
24450 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
24451 @findex gnus-info-level
24452 @findex gnus-info-set-level
24453 Get/set the group level.
24455 @item gnus-info-score
24456 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
24457 @findex gnus-info-score
24458 @findex gnus-info-set-score
24459 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
24461 @item gnus-info-read
24462 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
24463 @findex gnus-info-read
24464 @findex gnus-info-set-read
24465 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
24467 @item gnus-info-marks
24468 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
24469 @findex gnus-info-marks
24470 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
24471 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
24473 @item gnus-info-method
24474 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
24475 @findex gnus-info-method
24476 @findex gnus-info-set-method
24477 Get/set the group select method.
24479 @item gnus-info-params
24480 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
24481 @findex gnus-info-params
24482 @findex gnus-info-set-params
24483 Get/set the group parameters.
24486 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
24487 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
24489 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
24490 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
24491 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
24492 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
24495 @node Extended Interactive
24496 @subsection Extended Interactive
24497 @cindex interactive
24498 @findex gnus-interactive
24500 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
24501 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
24502 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
24505 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
24506 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
24511 The best thing to do would have been to implement
24512 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
24513 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
24514 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
24515 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
24516 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
24517 @code{interactive}.
24519 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
24524 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
24525 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
24529 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
24530 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
24531 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
24534 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
24538 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
24542 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
24548 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
24549 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
24553 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
24554 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
24555 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
24557 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
24558 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
24559 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
24560 Gnus, that's very useful.
24562 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
24563 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
24564 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
24565 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
24566 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
24567 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
24568 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
24569 following function:
24572 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
24576 (,function ,@@args))
24580 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
24581 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
24582 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
24585 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
24586 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
24587 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
24589 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
24590 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
24591 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
24594 @node Various File Formats
24595 @subsection Various File Formats
24598 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
24599 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
24603 @node Active File Format
24604 @subsubsection Active File Format
24606 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
24607 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
24610 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
24613 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
24614 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
24615 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
24616 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
24617 no.general 1000 900 y
24620 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
24623 active = *group-line
24624 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
24625 group = <non-white-space string>
24627 high-number = <non-negative integer>
24628 low-number = <positive integer>
24629 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
24632 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
24633 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
24636 @node Newsgroups File Format
24637 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
24639 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
24640 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
24641 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
24644 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
24645 Here's the definition:
24649 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
24650 group = <non-white-space string>
24652 description = <string>
24657 @node Emacs for Heathens
24658 @section Emacs for Heathens
24660 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
24661 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
24662 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
24663 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
24664 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
24665 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
24666 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
24670 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
24671 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
24676 @subsection Keystrokes
24680 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
24683 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
24686 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
24687 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
24688 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
24689 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
24690 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
24691 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
24693 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
24694 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
24695 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
24696 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
24697 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
24698 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
24699 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
24701 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
24702 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
24703 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
24704 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
24705 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
24706 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
24707 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
24709 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
24710 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
24711 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
24712 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
24713 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
24719 @subsection Emacs Lisp
24721 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
24722 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
24723 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
24724 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
24726 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
24727 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
24728 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
24729 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
24730 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
24731 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
24732 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
24735 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
24736 write the following:
24739 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
24742 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
24743 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
24744 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
24747 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
24748 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
24749 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
24750 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
24751 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
24753 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
24754 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
24755 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
24759 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
24763 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
24766 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
24767 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
24770 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
24773 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
24774 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
24777 @include gnus-faq.texi
24797 @c Local Variables:
24799 @c coding: iso-8859-1
24801 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
24802 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
24803 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
24804 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
24805 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref