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4 @settitle Quassia Gnus 0.6 Manual
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255 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
262 \thispagestyle{empty}
264 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
266 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
267 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
268 are preserved on all copies.
270 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
271 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
272 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
273 permission notice identical to this one.
275 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
276 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
285 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
287 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
289 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
290 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
291 are preserved on all copies.
294 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
295 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
296 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
297 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
300 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
301 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
302 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
303 permission notice identical to this one.
305 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
306 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
312 @title Quassia Gnus 0.6 Manual
314 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
317 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
318 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
320 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
321 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
322 are preserved on all copies.
324 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
325 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
326 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
327 permission notice identical to this one.
329 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
330 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
339 @top The Gnus Newsreader
343 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
344 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
345 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
348 This manual corresponds to Quassia Gnus 0.6.
359 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
360 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
362 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
363 being accused of plagiarism:
365 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
366 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
367 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
368 even read news with it!
370 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
371 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
372 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
373 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
374 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
381 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
382 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
383 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
384 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
385 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
386 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
387 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
388 * Various:: General purpose settings.
389 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
390 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
391 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
392 * Key Index:: Key Index.
396 @chapter Starting Gnus
401 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
402 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
405 @findex gnus-other-frame
406 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
407 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
408 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
410 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
411 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
412 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
415 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
416 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
417 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
418 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
419 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
420 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
421 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
422 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
423 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
424 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
425 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
429 @node Finding the News
430 @section Finding the News
433 @vindex gnus-select-method
435 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
436 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
437 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
438 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
441 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
442 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
445 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
448 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
451 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
454 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
455 certainly be much faster.
457 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
459 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
460 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
461 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
462 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
463 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
464 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
466 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
467 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
468 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
469 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
471 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
472 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
473 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
474 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
475 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
476 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
478 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
480 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
481 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
482 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
483 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
484 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
485 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
487 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
489 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
490 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
491 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
492 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
493 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
494 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
497 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
498 would typically set this variable to
501 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
506 @section The First Time
507 @cindex first time usage
509 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
510 be subscribed by default.
512 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
513 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
514 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
515 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
518 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
519 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
520 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
522 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
523 help you with most common problems.
525 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
526 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
530 @node The Server is Down
531 @section The Server is Down
532 @cindex server errors
534 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
535 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
536 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
538 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
539 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
540 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
541 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
542 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
543 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
544 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
546 @findex gnus-no-server
547 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
549 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
550 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
551 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
552 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
553 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
554 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
559 @section Slave Gnusae
562 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
563 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
564 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
565 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
567 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
570 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
571 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
572 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
573 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
574 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
575 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
576 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
578 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
579 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
580 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
581 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
582 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
583 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
584 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
585 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
587 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
588 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
591 @node Fetching a Group
592 @section Fetching a Group
593 @cindex fetching a group
595 @findex gnus-fetch-group
596 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
597 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
598 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
599 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
600 It takes the group name as a parameter.
608 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
609 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
610 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
611 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
612 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
613 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
614 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
615 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
616 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
619 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
620 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
621 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
625 @node Checking New Groups
626 @subsection Checking New Groups
628 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
629 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
630 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
631 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
632 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
633 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
634 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
635 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
636 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
637 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
639 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
640 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
641 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
642 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
643 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
644 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
645 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
646 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
647 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
648 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
649 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
651 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
652 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
653 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
654 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
655 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
656 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
659 @node Subscription Methods
660 @subsection Subscription Methods
662 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
663 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
664 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
666 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
667 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
669 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
673 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
674 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
675 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
676 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
677 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
679 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
680 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
681 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
682 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the grop buffer.
684 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
685 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
686 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
688 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
689 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
690 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
691 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
692 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
693 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
694 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
695 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
696 up. Or something like that.
698 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
699 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
700 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
701 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
702 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
704 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
705 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
710 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
711 A closely related variable is
712 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
713 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
714 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
715 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
718 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
719 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
720 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
721 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
724 @node Filtering New Groups
725 @subsection Filtering New Groups
727 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
728 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
729 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
732 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
735 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
736 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
737 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
738 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
739 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
740 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
741 subscribing these groups.
742 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
743 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
745 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
746 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
747 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
748 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
749 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
750 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
751 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
752 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
754 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
755 Yet another variable that meddles here is
756 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
757 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
758 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
759 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
760 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
761 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
762 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
763 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
765 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
766 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
769 @node Changing Servers
770 @section Changing Servers
771 @cindex changing servers
773 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
774 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
775 very flaky and you want to use another.
777 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
778 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
782 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
783 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
784 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
785 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
788 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
789 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
790 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
791 functions more than absolutely necessary.
793 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
794 @findex gnus-change-server
795 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
796 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
797 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
798 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
799 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
801 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
802 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
803 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
804 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
805 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
807 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
808 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
809 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
810 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
811 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
812 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
816 @section Startup Files
817 @cindex startup files
822 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
823 information is traditionally stored in this file.
825 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
826 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
827 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
828 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
829 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
830 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
831 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
833 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
834 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
835 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
836 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file.
838 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
839 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
840 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
841 the file and save some space, as well as making exit from Gnus faster.
842 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
843 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
845 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
846 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
847 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
848 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
849 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
850 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
851 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
852 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
853 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
854 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
855 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
856 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
858 @vindex gnus-startup-file
859 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
860 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
861 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
863 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
864 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
865 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
866 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
867 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
868 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
869 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
870 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
871 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
872 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
875 (defun turn-off-backup ()
876 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
878 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
879 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
882 @vindex gnus-init-file
883 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
884 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
885 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
886 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
887 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
888 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
889 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
890 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
891 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
900 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
901 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
902 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
903 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
904 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
907 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
908 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
911 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
912 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
913 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
915 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
916 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
917 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
918 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
919 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
920 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
923 @node The Active File
924 @section The Active File
926 @cindex ignored groups
928 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
929 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
930 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
932 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
933 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
934 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
935 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
936 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
937 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
938 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
941 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
942 @c if you set it to anything else.
944 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
946 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
947 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
948 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
950 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
951 you actually subscribe to.
953 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
954 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
955 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
956 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
958 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
959 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
960 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
961 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
962 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
963 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
965 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
966 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
967 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
968 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
969 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
970 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
972 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
973 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
975 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
976 secondary select methods.
979 @node Startup Variables
980 @section Startup Variables
985 @vindex gnus-load-hook
986 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
987 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
988 times you start Gnus.
990 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
991 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
992 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
994 @item gnus-startup-hook
995 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
996 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
998 @item gnus-started-hook
999 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1000 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1003 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1004 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1005 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1006 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1007 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1008 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1009 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1010 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1012 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1013 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1014 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1015 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1016 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1017 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1019 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1020 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1021 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1023 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1024 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1025 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1027 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1028 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1029 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1030 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1035 @node The Group Buffer
1036 @chapter The Group Buffer
1037 @cindex group buffer
1039 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1040 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1041 long as Gnus is active.
1045 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1046 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1047 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1048 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1049 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1050 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1051 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1052 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1058 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1059 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1060 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1061 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1062 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1063 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1064 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1065 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1066 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1067 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1068 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1069 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1070 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1071 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1072 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1073 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1074 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1078 @node Group Buffer Format
1079 @section Group Buffer Format
1082 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1083 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1084 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1088 @node Group Line Specification
1089 @subsection Group Line Specification
1090 @cindex group buffer format
1092 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1093 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1095 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1098 25: news.announce.newusers
1099 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1104 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1105 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1106 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1107 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1109 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1110 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1111 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1112 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1113 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1114 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1116 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1118 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1119 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1120 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1121 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1124 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1125 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1126 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1128 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1133 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1136 Whether the group is subscribed.
1139 Level of subscribedness.
1142 Number of unread articles.
1145 Number of dormant articles.
1148 Number of ticked articles.
1151 Number of read articles.
1154 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1155 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1158 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1161 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1170 Newsgroup description.
1173 @samp{m} if moderated.
1176 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1185 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1189 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1192 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1193 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1194 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1195 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1196 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1199 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1201 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1205 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1209 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1210 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1211 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1212 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1213 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1214 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1219 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1220 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1221 group, or a bogus native group.
1224 @node Group Modeline Specification
1225 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1226 @cindex group modeline
1228 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1229 The mode line can be changed by setting
1230 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
1231 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1235 The native news server.
1237 The native select method.
1241 @node Group Highlighting
1242 @subsection Group Highlighting
1243 @cindex highlighting
1244 @cindex group highlighting
1246 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1247 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1248 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1249 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1250 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1252 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1256 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1258 ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
1259 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
1260 ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1262 ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1264 ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1266 ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))))
1269 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1276 The number of unread articles in the group.
1280 Whether the group is a mail group.
1282 The level of the group.
1284 The score of the group.
1286 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1288 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1289 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1291 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1292 topic being inserted.
1295 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1296 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1297 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1299 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1300 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1301 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1302 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1303 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1306 @node Group Maneuvering
1307 @section Group Maneuvering
1308 @cindex group movement
1310 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1311 expected, hopefully.
1317 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1318 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1319 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1325 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1326 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1327 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1331 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1332 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1336 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1337 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1341 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1342 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1343 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1347 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1348 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1349 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1352 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1358 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1359 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1360 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1365 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1366 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1367 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1371 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1372 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1373 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1376 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1377 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1378 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1379 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1383 @node Selecting a Group
1384 @section Selecting a Group
1385 @cindex group selection
1390 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1391 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1392 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1393 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1394 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1395 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1396 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1397 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1398 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1399 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1403 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1404 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1405 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1406 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1407 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1411 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1412 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1413 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1414 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1415 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1416 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1417 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1418 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1419 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1420 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1423 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1424 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1425 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1426 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1427 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1430 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1431 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1432 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1433 doing any processing of its contents
1434 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1435 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1436 manner will have no permanent effects.
1440 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1441 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1442 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1443 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1444 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1445 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1446 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1447 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1450 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1451 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1452 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1453 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1458 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1459 full summary buffer.
1462 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1465 Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
1469 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1470 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1471 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1475 @node Subscription Commands
1476 @section Subscription Commands
1477 @cindex subscription
1485 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1486 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1487 Toggle subscription to the current group
1488 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1494 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1495 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1496 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1497 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1503 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1504 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1505 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1511 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1512 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1515 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1516 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1517 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1518 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1519 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1525 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1526 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1530 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1531 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1534 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1535 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1536 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1537 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1538 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1539 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1540 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1541 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1542 @file{.newsrc} file.
1546 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1556 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1557 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1558 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1559 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1560 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1561 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1566 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1567 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1568 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1572 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1573 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1574 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1576 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1577 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1578 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1579 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1580 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1581 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1588 @section Group Levels
1592 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1593 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1594 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1595 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1596 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1598 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1604 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1605 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1606 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1607 prompted for a level.
1610 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1611 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1612 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1613 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1614 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1615 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1616 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1617 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1618 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1619 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1620 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1621 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1622 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1623 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1624 reasons of efficiency.
1626 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1627 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1629 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1630 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1631 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1633 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1634 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1635 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1636 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1637 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1638 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1639 relevant valid ranges.
1641 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1642 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1643 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1644 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1645 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1646 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1649 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1650 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1651 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1654 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1655 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1656 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1657 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1660 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1661 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1662 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1663 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1665 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1666 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1667 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1668 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1669 to 5. The default is 6.
1673 @section Group Score
1676 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1677 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1678 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1681 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1682 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1683 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1684 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1685 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1686 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1687 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1689 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1690 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1691 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1692 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1693 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1694 action after each summary exit, you can add
1695 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1696 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1697 slow things down somewhat.
1700 @node Marking Groups
1701 @section Marking Groups
1702 @cindex marking groups
1704 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1705 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1706 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1707 bidding on those groups.
1709 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1710 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1711 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1719 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1720 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1726 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1727 Remove the mark from the current group
1728 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1732 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1733 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1737 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1738 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1742 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1743 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1747 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1748 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1749 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1752 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1754 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1755 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1756 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1757 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1758 the command to be executed.
1761 @node Foreign Groups
1762 @section Foreign Groups
1763 @cindex foreign groups
1765 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1766 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1767 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1768 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1775 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1776 @cindex making groups
1777 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1778 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1779 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1783 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1784 @cindex renaming groups
1785 Rename the current group to something else
1786 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1787 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1793 @findex gnus-group-customize
1794 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1798 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1799 @cindex renaming groups
1800 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1801 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1805 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1806 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1807 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1811 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1812 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1813 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1817 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1819 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1820 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1825 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1826 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1830 @cindex (ding) archive
1831 @cindex archive group
1832 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1833 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1834 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1835 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1836 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1837 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1838 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1842 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1844 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1845 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1846 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1847 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1851 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1853 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1854 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1855 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1859 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1860 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1862 Make a group based on some file or other
1863 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1864 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1865 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1866 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1867 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, and @code{forward}. If you run
1868 this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file type.
1869 @xref{Document Groups}.
1873 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1878 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1879 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1880 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1881 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1882 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1883 @xref{Web Searches}.
1886 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1887 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1888 This function will delete the current group
1889 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1890 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1891 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1892 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
1893 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
1897 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1898 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1899 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1903 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1904 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1905 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1908 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1911 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1912 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1913 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1914 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1915 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
1918 @node Group Parameters
1919 @section Group Parameters
1920 @cindex group parameters
1922 The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
1927 If the group parameter list contains an element that looks like
1928 @code{(to-address . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used by
1929 the backend when doing followups and posts. This is primarily useful in
1930 mail groups that represent closed mailing lists---mailing lists where
1931 it's expected that everybody that writes to the mailing list is
1932 subscribed to it. Since using this parameter ensures that the mail only
1933 goes to the mailing list itself, it means that members won't receive two
1934 copies of your followups.
1936 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1937 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1938 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1939 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1940 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1941 list address instead.
1945 If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
1946 @code{(to-list . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used when
1947 doing a @kbd{a} in that group. It is totally ignored when doing a
1948 followup---except that if it is present in a news group, you'll get mail
1949 group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
1951 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
1952 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
1953 sending the message.
1957 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
1958 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
1959 of whether it has any unread articles.
1961 @item broken-reply-to
1962 @cindex broken-reply-to
1963 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
1964 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
1965 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
1966 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
1967 broken behavior. So there!
1971 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
1972 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
1976 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, Gnus will treat
1977 all responses as if they were responses to news articles. This can be
1978 useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a news group.
1982 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list and set to
1983 @code{t}, newly composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current
1984 group. If it is present and set to @code{none}, no @code{Gcc:} header
1985 will be generated, if it is present and a string, this string will be
1986 inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header (this symbol takes precedence
1987 over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later). @xref{Archived
1992 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
1993 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
1994 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
1997 @cindex total-expire
1998 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
1999 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2000 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2001 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2006 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2007 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2008 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2009 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2010 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2011 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2014 @cindex score file group parameter
2015 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2016 @file{file} into the current adaptive score file for the group in
2017 question. All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2020 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2021 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2022 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2023 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2026 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2027 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2028 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2029 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2032 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2033 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2037 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2040 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2045 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2046 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2047 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2050 @item @var{(variable form)}
2051 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2052 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2053 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2054 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2055 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2056 @code{eval}ed there.
2058 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2059 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2060 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2061 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2062 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2066 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group.
2068 @pxref{Topic Parameters}.
2070 Here's an example group parameter list:
2073 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2078 @node Listing Groups
2079 @section Listing Groups
2080 @cindex group listing
2082 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2090 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2091 List all groups that have unread articles
2092 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2093 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2094 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2095 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2102 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2103 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2104 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2105 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2106 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2107 unsubscribed groups).
2111 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2112 List all unread groups on a specific level
2113 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2114 with no unread articles.
2118 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2119 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2120 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2121 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2126 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2127 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2131 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2132 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2133 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2137 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2138 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2142 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2143 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2144 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2145 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2146 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2147 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2148 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2149 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2153 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2154 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2155 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2159 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2160 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2161 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2165 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2166 @cindex visible group parameter
2167 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2168 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2169 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2170 get the same effect.
2172 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2173 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2174 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2175 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2176 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2179 @node Sorting Groups
2180 @section Sorting Groups
2181 @cindex sorting groups
2183 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2184 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2185 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2186 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2187 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2188 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2193 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2194 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2195 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2197 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2198 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2199 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2201 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2202 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2203 Sort by group level.
2205 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2206 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2207 Sort by group score.
2209 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2210 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2211 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2212 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}.
2214 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2215 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2216 Sort by number of unread articles.
2218 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2219 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2220 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2225 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2226 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2230 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2231 some sorting criteria:
2235 @kindex G S a (Group)
2236 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2237 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2238 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2241 @kindex G S u (Group)
2242 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2243 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2244 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2247 @kindex G S l (Group)
2248 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2249 Sort the group buffer by group level
2250 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2253 @kindex G S v (Group)
2254 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2255 Sort the group buffer by group score
2256 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}).
2259 @kindex G S r (Group)
2260 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2261 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2262 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2265 @kindex G S m (Group)
2266 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2267 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2268 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2272 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2274 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2278 @kindex G P a (Group)
2279 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2280 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2281 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2284 @kindex G P u (Group)
2285 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2286 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2287 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2290 @kindex G P l (Group)
2291 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2292 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2293 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2296 @kindex G P v (Group)
2297 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2298 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2299 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}).
2302 @kindex G P r (Group)
2303 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2304 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
2305 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}).
2308 @kindex G P m (Group)
2309 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2310 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2311 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2317 @node Group Maintenance
2318 @section Group Maintenance
2319 @cindex bogus groups
2324 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2325 Find bogus groups and delete them
2326 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2330 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2331 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2332 If given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2336 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2337 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2338 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2339 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2342 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2343 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2344 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2345 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2350 @node Browse Foreign Server
2351 @section Browse Foreign Server
2352 @cindex foreign servers
2353 @cindex browsing servers
2358 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2359 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2360 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2361 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2364 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2365 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2366 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2367 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2369 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2374 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2375 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2379 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2380 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2383 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2384 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2385 Enter the current group and display the first article
2386 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2389 @kindex RET (Browse)
2390 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2391 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2395 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2396 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2397 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2403 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2404 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2408 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2409 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2410 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2415 @section Exiting Gnus
2416 @cindex exiting Gnus
2418 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2423 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2424 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2425 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2426 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2430 @findex gnus-group-exit
2431 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2432 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2436 @findex gnus-group-quit
2437 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2438 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2441 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2442 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2443 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2444 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2445 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2450 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2451 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2452 trying to customize meta-variables.
2457 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2458 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2459 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2465 @section Group Topics
2468 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2469 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2470 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2471 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2472 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2473 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2477 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2478 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2489 2: alt.religion.emacs
2492 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2494 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2495 13: comp.sources.unix
2498 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2500 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2501 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2502 is a toggling command.)
2504 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2505 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2506 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2507 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2510 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2511 the hook for the group mode:
2514 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2518 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2519 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2520 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2521 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2522 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2526 @node Topic Variables
2527 @subsection Topic Variables
2528 @cindex topic variables
2530 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2531 really neat, I think.
2533 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2534 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2535 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2548 Number of groups in the topic.
2550 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2552 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2555 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2556 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2557 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2560 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2561 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2563 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2564 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2565 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2568 @node Topic Commands
2569 @subsection Topic Commands
2570 @cindex topic commands
2572 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2573 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2574 definitions slightly.
2580 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2581 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2582 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2586 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2587 Move the current group to some other topic
2588 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2589 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2593 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2594 Copy the current group to some other topic
2595 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2596 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2600 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2601 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2602 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2603 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2607 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2608 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2609 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2613 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2614 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2615 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2619 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2620 Toggle hiding empty topics
2621 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2625 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2626 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2627 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2630 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2631 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2632 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2633 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2637 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2639 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2640 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2641 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2642 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2643 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2644 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2647 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2648 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2649 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2650 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2651 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2655 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2656 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2657 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2661 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2662 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2663 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2668 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2669 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2672 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2673 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2674 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2678 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2679 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2680 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2684 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2685 @cindex group parameters
2686 @cindex topic parameters
2688 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2689 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2695 @subsection Topic Sorting
2696 @cindex topic sorting
2698 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2704 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2705 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2706 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2707 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2710 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2711 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2712 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2713 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2716 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2717 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2718 Sort the current topic by group level
2719 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2722 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2723 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2724 Sort the current topic by group score
2725 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}).
2728 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2729 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2730 Sort the current topic by group rank
2731 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2734 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2735 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2736 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2737 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2741 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2744 @node Topic Topology
2745 @subsection Topic Topology
2746 @cindex topic topology
2749 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2755 2: alt.religion.emacs
2758 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2760 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2761 13: comp.sources.unix
2764 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2765 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2766 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2771 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2772 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2776 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2777 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2778 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2779 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2780 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2781 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2783 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2784 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2785 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2788 @node Topic Parameters
2789 @subsection Topic Parameters
2790 @cindex topic parameters
2792 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2793 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2794 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2796 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2797 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2798 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2799 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2805 2: alt.religion.emacs
2809 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2811 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2812 13: comp.sources.unix
2816 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2817 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2818 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2819 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2820 @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2821 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2823 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2824 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2825 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2826 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2827 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2829 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2830 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2831 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2832 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2833 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2834 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2835 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2836 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2839 @node Misc Group Stuff
2840 @section Misc Group Stuff
2843 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2844 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2845 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2846 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2853 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2854 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2855 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2859 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2860 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
2861 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
2865 @findex gnus-group-mail
2866 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2870 Variables for the group buffer:
2874 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2875 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2876 is called after the group buffer has been
2879 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2880 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2881 is called after the group buffer is
2882 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2885 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2886 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2887 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2888 whether they are empty or not.
2893 @node Scanning New Messages
2894 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2895 @cindex new messages
2896 @cindex scanning new news
2902 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2903 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
2904 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2905 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2906 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2907 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
2912 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2913 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2914 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
2915 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2916 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
2917 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
2918 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
2920 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2921 @cindex activating groups
2923 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2924 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2929 @findex gnus-group-restart
2930 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
2931 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
2932 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
2936 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2937 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2939 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
2940 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
2944 @node Group Information
2945 @subsection Group Information
2946 @cindex group information
2947 @cindex information on groups
2954 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
2955 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
2958 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
2959 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
2960 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
2961 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
2962 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
2963 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
2964 for fetching the file.
2966 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
2967 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
2971 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
2973 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
2974 @cindex describing groups
2975 @cindex group description
2976 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
2977 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
2978 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
2982 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
2983 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
2984 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
2991 @findex gnus-version
2992 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
2996 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
2997 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3000 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3003 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3004 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3008 @node Group Timestamp
3009 @subsection Group Timestamp
3011 @cindex group timestamps
3013 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3014 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3015 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3018 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3021 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3023 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3024 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3027 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3028 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3031 This will result in lines looking like:
3034 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3035 0: custom 19961002T012713
3038 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3039 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3043 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3044 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3049 @subsection File Commands
3050 @cindex file commands
3056 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3057 @vindex gnus-init-file
3058 @cindex reading init file
3059 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3060 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3064 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3065 @cindex saving .newsrc
3066 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3067 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3068 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3071 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3072 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3073 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3078 @node The Summary Buffer
3079 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3080 @cindex summary buffer
3082 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3083 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3085 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3086 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3088 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3091 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3092 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3093 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3094 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3095 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3096 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3097 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3098 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3099 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3100 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3101 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3102 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3103 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3104 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3105 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3106 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3107 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3108 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3109 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3110 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3111 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3112 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3113 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3114 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3115 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3116 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3117 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3121 @node Summary Buffer Format
3122 @section Summary Buffer Format
3123 @cindex summary buffer format
3127 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3128 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3129 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3135 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3136 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3137 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3140 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3141 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3142 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3143 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3144 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3145 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3146 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3147 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3148 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3149 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3150 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
3152 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3153 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3154 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3155 with those specs that require it. The default is @samp{}.
3158 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3159 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3161 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3162 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3163 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3164 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3165 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3167 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3169 The following format specification characters are understood:
3177 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3178 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3179 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @samp{}.)
3181 Full @code{From} header.
3183 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3185 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3186 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3187 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3188 may be more thorough.
3190 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3193 Number of lines in the article.
3195 Number of characters in the article.
3197 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3199 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3200 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3202 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3203 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3205 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3206 for adopted articles.
3208 One space for each thread level.
3210 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3216 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3218 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3219 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3220 default level. If the difference between
3221 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
3222 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3230 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3232 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3238 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3239 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3241 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3242 article has any children.
3248 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3249 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3250 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3251 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3252 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3253 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3256 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3257 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3258 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3259 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3260 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3261 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3263 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3264 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3266 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3269 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3270 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3272 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3273 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
3274 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. The default
3275 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3277 Here are the elements you can play with:
3283 Unprefixed group name.
3285 Current article number.
3289 Number of unread articles in this group.
3291 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3294 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3295 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3296 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3297 and no unselected ones.
3299 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3300 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3302 Subject of the current article.
3304 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3306 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3308 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3310 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3312 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3314 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3318 @node Summary Highlighting
3319 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3323 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3324 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3325 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3326 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3327 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3329 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3330 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3331 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3332 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3334 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3335 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3336 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3337 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3339 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3340 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3341 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3342 list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3343 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3344 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3346 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3347 ((> score default) . bold))
3349 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3350 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3354 @node Summary Maneuvering
3355 @section Summary Maneuvering
3356 @cindex summary movement
3358 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3359 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3361 None of these commands select articles.
3366 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3367 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3368 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3369 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3370 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3374 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3375 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3376 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3377 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3378 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3383 @kindex G j (Summary)
3384 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3385 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3386 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3389 @kindex G g (Summary)
3390 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3391 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3392 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3395 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3396 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3397 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3398 to the group buffer.
3400 Variables related to summary movement:
3404 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3405 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3406 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3407 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3408 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3409 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3410 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3411 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3412 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3413 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3414 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3415 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3416 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3417 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3419 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3420 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3421 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3422 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3423 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3424 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
3425 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3427 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3428 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3429 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3430 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3431 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3433 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3434 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3435 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3436 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3437 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3438 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3439 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3440 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3446 @node Choosing Articles
3447 @section Choosing Articles
3448 @cindex selecting articles
3451 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3452 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3456 @node Choosing Commands
3457 @subsection Choosing Commands
3459 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3460 and they all select and display an article.
3464 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3465 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3466 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3467 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3472 @kindex G n (Summary)
3473 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3474 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3475 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3480 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3481 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3482 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3487 @kindex G N (Summary)
3488 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3489 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3494 @kindex G P (Summary)
3495 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3496 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3499 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3500 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3501 Go to the next article with the same subject
3502 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3505 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3506 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3507 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3508 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3512 @kindex G f (Summary)
3514 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3515 Go to the first unread article
3516 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3520 @kindex G b (Summary)
3522 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3523 Go to the article with the highest score
3524 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3529 @kindex G l (Summary)
3530 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3531 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3534 @kindex G o (Summary)
3535 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3537 @cindex article history
3538 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3539 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3540 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3541 history as you like. For a somewhat related issue (if you use this
3542 command a lot), @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3546 @node Choosing Variables
3547 @subsection Choosing Variables
3549 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3552 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3553 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3554 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3555 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3556 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3557 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3559 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3560 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3561 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3562 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3564 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3565 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3566 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3567 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3568 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3569 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3570 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3571 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3572 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3573 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3574 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3575 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3576 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3577 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3582 @node Paging the Article
3583 @section Scrolling the Article
3584 @cindex article scrolling
3589 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3590 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3591 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3592 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3593 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3596 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3597 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3598 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3601 @kindex RET (Summary)
3602 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3603 Scroll the current article one line forward
3604 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3608 @kindex A g (Summary)
3610 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3611 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3612 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3613 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3614 the way it came from the server.
3619 @kindex A < (Summary)
3620 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3621 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3622 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3627 @kindex A > (Summary)
3628 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3629 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3633 @kindex A s (Summary)
3635 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3636 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3637 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3642 @node Reply Followup and Post
3643 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3646 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3647 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3651 @node Summary Mail Commands
3652 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3654 @cindex composing mail
3656 Commands for composing a mail message:
3662 @kindex S r (Summary)
3664 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3665 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
3666 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
3667 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3668 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3673 @kindex S R (Summary)
3674 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3675 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
3676 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3677 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3678 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3681 @kindex S w (Summary)
3682 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3683 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3684 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
3685 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
3686 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
3689 @kindex S W (Summary)
3690 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3691 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3692 message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3693 the process/prefix convention.
3696 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3697 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3698 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
3699 Forward the current article to some other person
3700 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3701 headers of the forwarded article.
3706 @kindex S m (Summary)
3707 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3708 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
3709 Send a mail to some other person
3710 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3713 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3714 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3715 @cindex bouncing mail
3716 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3717 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3718 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3719 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3720 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3721 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3722 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3723 very well fail, though.
3726 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3727 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3728 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3729 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3730 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3731 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3732 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3733 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3734 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3735 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3737 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3738 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3739 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3740 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3741 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3743 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3744 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3747 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3748 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3749 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
3750 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
3751 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3754 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3755 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3756 @cindex crossposting
3757 @cindex excessive crossposting
3758 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3759 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3761 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3762 This command is provided as a way to fight back agains the current
3763 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3764 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3765 command understands the process/prefix convention
3766 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3771 @node Summary Post Commands
3772 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3774 @cindex composing news
3776 Commands for posting a news article:
3782 @kindex S p (Summary)
3783 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3784 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
3785 Post an article to the current group
3786 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3791 @kindex S f (Summary)
3792 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3793 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
3794 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3798 @kindex S F (Summary)
3800 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
3801 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3802 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3803 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3804 process/prefix convention.
3807 @kindex S n (Summary)
3808 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3809 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3810 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
3813 @kindex S n (Summary)
3814 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3815 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3816 message through mail and include the original message
3817 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
3818 the process/prefix convention.
3821 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3822 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3823 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3824 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3825 headers of the forwarded article.
3828 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3829 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3831 @cindex making digests
3832 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3833 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3834 process/prefix convention.
3837 @kindex S u (Summary)
3838 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3839 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
3840 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3841 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3845 @node Canceling and Superseding
3846 @section Canceling Articles
3847 @cindex canceling articles
3848 @cindex superseding articles
3850 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3851 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3853 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3855 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3857 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
3858 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3859 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3860 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3861 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3863 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3864 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3867 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3868 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3869 your original article.
3871 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3873 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3874 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3875 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3878 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3879 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3880 have posted almost the same article twice.
3882 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3883 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3884 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3885 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
3886 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3887 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3888 header by substituting one of those words for the word
3889 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
3890 you would do normally. The previous article will be
3891 canceled/superseded.
3893 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3896 @node Marking Articles
3897 @section Marking Articles
3898 @cindex article marking
3899 @cindex article ticking
3902 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3904 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3905 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3906 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3908 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3911 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3912 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3913 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3917 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3921 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
3922 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
3926 @node Unread Articles
3927 @subsection Unread Articles
3929 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
3934 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
3935 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
3937 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
3938 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
3939 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
3940 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
3941 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
3945 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3946 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
3948 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
3949 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
3950 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
3953 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
3954 Markes as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
3956 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
3961 @subsection Read Articles
3962 @cindex expirable mark
3964 All the following marks mark articles as read.
3969 @vindex gnus-del-mark
3970 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
3971 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
3974 @vindex gnus-read-mark
3975 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
3978 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
3979 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
3980 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
3983 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
3984 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
3987 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
3988 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
3991 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
3992 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
3995 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
3996 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
3999 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4000 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4003 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4004 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4007 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4008 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4012 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4013 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4014 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4018 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4019 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4021 One more special mark, though:
4025 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4026 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4028 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4029 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4030 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4031 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4037 @subsection Other Marks
4038 @cindex process mark
4041 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4047 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4048 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4049 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4050 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4051 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
4054 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4055 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4056 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4057 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4060 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4061 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4062 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}
4065 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4066 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4067 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4068 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4071 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4072 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4073 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4074 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4075 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4078 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4079 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4080 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4081 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4082 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4083 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4087 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4088 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4089 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4091 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4092 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4093 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4097 @subsection Setting Marks
4098 @cindex setting marks
4100 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4105 @kindex M c (Summary)
4106 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4107 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4108 @cindex mark as unread
4109 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4110 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4116 @kindex M t (Summary)
4117 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4118 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4119 @xref{Article Caching}
4124 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4125 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4126 Mark the current article as dormant
4127 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}
4131 @kindex M d (Summary)
4133 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4134 Mark the current article as read
4135 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4139 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4140 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4141 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4146 @kindex M k (Summary)
4147 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4148 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4149 and then select the next unread article
4150 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4154 @kindex M K (Summary)
4155 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4156 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4157 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4158 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4161 @kindex M C (Summary)
4162 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4163 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4164 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4167 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4168 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4169 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4170 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4173 @kindex M H (Summary)
4174 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4175 Catchup the current group to point
4176 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4179 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4180 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4181 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4182 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4185 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4186 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4187 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4188 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4192 @kindex M e (Summary)
4194 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4195 Mark the current article as expirable
4196 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4199 @kindex M b (Summary)
4200 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4201 Set a bookmark in the current article
4202 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4205 @kindex M B (Summary)
4206 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4207 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4208 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4211 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4212 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4213 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4214 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4217 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4218 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4219 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4220 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4223 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4224 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4225 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4226 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4227 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4230 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4231 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4232 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4233 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4234 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4235 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4236 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4237 The default is @code{t}.
4240 @node Setting Process Marks
4241 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4242 @cindex setting process marks
4249 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4250 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4251 Mark the current article with the process mark
4252 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4253 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4257 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4258 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4259 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4260 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4263 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4264 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4265 Remove the process mark from all articles
4266 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4269 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4270 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4271 Invert the list of process marked articles
4272 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4275 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4276 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4277 Mark articles by a regular expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4280 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4281 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4282 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4285 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4286 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4287 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4288 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4291 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4292 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4293 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4294 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4297 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4298 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4299 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4300 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4303 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4304 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4305 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4308 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4309 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4310 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4311 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4314 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4315 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4316 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4319 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4320 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4321 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4322 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4325 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4326 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4327 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4328 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4331 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4332 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4333 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4334 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4337 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4338 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4339 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4340 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4349 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4350 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4351 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4358 @kindex / / (Summary)
4359 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4360 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4361 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4364 @kindex / a (Summary)
4365 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4366 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4367 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4371 @kindex / u (Summary)
4373 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4374 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4375 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4376 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4377 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4380 @kindex / m (Summary)
4381 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4382 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
4383 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4386 @kindex / t (Summary)
4387 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4388 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4389 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4390 articles younger than that number of days.
4393 @kindex / n (Summary)
4394 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4395 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4396 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4397 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4400 @kindex / w (Summary)
4401 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4402 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4403 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4407 @kindex / v (Summary)
4408 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4409 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4410 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4414 @kindex M S (Summary)
4415 @kindex / E (Summary)
4416 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4417 Display all expunged articles
4418 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4421 @kindex / D (Summary)
4422 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4423 Display all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4426 @kindex / d (Summary)
4427 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4428 Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4431 @kindex / c (Summary)
4432 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4433 Hide all dormant articles that have no children
4434 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4437 @kindex / C (Summary)
4438 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4439 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4440 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4441 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4449 @cindex article threading
4451 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4452 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4453 hierarchical fashion.
4455 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4456 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4457 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4458 or simply missing. Weird news propagration excarcerbates the problem,
4459 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4460 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4461 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4463 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4467 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4470 A tree-like article structure.
4473 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4476 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4477 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4478 summary buffer. We then typicall have many sub-threads that really
4479 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4480 called loose threads.
4482 @item thread gathering
4483 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4485 @item sparse threads
4486 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4487 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4493 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4494 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4498 @node Customizing Threading
4499 @subsection Customizing Threading
4500 @cindex customizing threading
4503 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4504 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4505 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4506 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4511 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4514 @cindex loose threads
4517 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4518 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4519 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4520 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4521 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4522 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4524 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4525 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4526 There are four possible values:
4530 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4531 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4532 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4533 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4534 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4539 @cindex adopting articles
4544 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4545 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4546 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4547 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4550 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4551 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4552 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4553 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4554 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4555 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4556 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4559 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4560 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4561 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4565 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4566 display them after one another.
4569 Don't gather loose threads.
4572 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4573 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4574 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4575 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4576 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4577 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4578 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
4579 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4580 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4581 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4582 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4584 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4585 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4586 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4589 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4590 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4591 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4592 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4593 simplification is used.
4595 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4596 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4597 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4598 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4600 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4602 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4608 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4609 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4610 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4611 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4616 (mapconcat 'identity
4617 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4619 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4622 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4625 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4626 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4627 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4628 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4629 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4630 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4631 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
4632 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4634 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4635 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4636 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4637 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4638 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4639 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4640 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
4641 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
4642 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4646 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4647 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4648 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4649 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4651 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4652 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4653 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4656 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4660 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4661 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4667 @node Filling In Threads
4668 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
4671 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4672 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4673 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4674 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
4675 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4676 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4677 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4678 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4679 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4680 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4681 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4682 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4684 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4685 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4686 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4687 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4688 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4689 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
4690 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4691 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4692 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4693 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4694 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4695 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4696 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4697 @code{nil} by default.
4702 @node More Threading
4703 @subsubsection More Threading
4706 @item gnus-show-threads
4707 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4708 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4709 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4710 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4711 slower and more awkward.
4713 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4714 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4715 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4718 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
4719 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
4720 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
4721 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
4722 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
4723 threads are expunged.
4725 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4726 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4727 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4730 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4731 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4732 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4733 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4734 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4737 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4738 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4739 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4745 @node Low-Level Threading
4746 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
4750 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
4751 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
4752 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
4753 @code{(gnus-decode-rfc1522)}, which means that QPized headers will be
4754 slightly decoded in a hackish way. This is likely to change in the
4755 future when Gnus becomes @sc{MIME}ified.
4757 @item gnus-alter-header-function
4758 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
4759 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
4760 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
4761 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
4762 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
4763 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
4764 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
4765 meaningful. Here's one example:
4768 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
4770 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
4771 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
4773 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
4775 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
4782 @node Thread Commands
4783 @subsection Thread Commands
4784 @cindex thread commands
4790 @kindex T k (Summary)
4791 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4792 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4793 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4794 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4795 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4800 @kindex T l (Summary)
4801 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4802 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4803 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4804 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4807 @kindex T i (Summary)
4808 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4809 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4810 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4813 @kindex T # (Summary)
4814 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4815 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
4816 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4819 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4820 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4821 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
4822 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4825 @kindex T T (Summary)
4826 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4827 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4830 @kindex T s (Summary)
4831 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4832 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
4833 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4836 @kindex T h (Summary)
4837 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4838 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4841 @kindex T S (Summary)
4842 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4843 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4846 @kindex T H (Summary)
4847 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4848 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4851 @kindex T t (Summary)
4852 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4853 Re-thread the current article's thread
4854 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4855 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4858 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4859 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4860 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4861 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
4865 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4866 understand the numeric prefix.
4871 @kindex T n (Summary)
4872 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4873 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
4876 @kindex T p (Summary)
4877 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
4878 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
4881 @kindex T d (Summary)
4882 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
4883 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
4886 @kindex T u (Summary)
4887 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
4888 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
4891 @kindex T o (Summary)
4892 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
4893 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
4896 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
4897 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
4898 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
4899 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
4900 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
4901 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
4902 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
4903 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
4904 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
4905 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
4906 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
4907 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
4914 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
4915 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
4916 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
4917 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4918 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
4919 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4920 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
4921 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
4922 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
4923 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
4924 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
4925 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
4926 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
4927 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
4929 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
4930 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
4931 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
4932 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
4933 in the list. You should probably always include
4934 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
4935 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
4936 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
4937 ascending article order.
4939 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
4940 number, you could do something like:
4943 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4944 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4945 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4946 gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score))
4949 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
4950 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
4951 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
4952 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
4953 which the articles arrived.
4955 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
4959 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4961 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t2 t1)))
4962 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4965 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
4966 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
4967 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
4968 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
4971 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
4972 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
4973 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
4974 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
4975 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
4976 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
4977 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
4978 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
4979 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
4980 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
4981 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
4982 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
4983 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
4985 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
4989 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
4990 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
4991 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
4996 @node Asynchronous Fetching
4997 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
4998 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
4999 @cindex article pre-fetch
5002 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5003 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5004 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5005 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5006 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5008 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5009 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
5011 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5012 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5013 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5014 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5015 connection is blocked.
5017 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5018 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5019 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5020 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
5022 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5023 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5024 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5025 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5028 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5031 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5032 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5033 happen automatically.
5035 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5036 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5037 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5038 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5039 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5040 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5041 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5043 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5044 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5045 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5046 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5047 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5048 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5049 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5050 data structure as the only parameter.
5052 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5055 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5056 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5057 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5058 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5061 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5064 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5065 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
5066 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5068 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5069 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5070 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5071 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5075 Remove articles when they are read.
5078 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5081 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5083 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5084 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5085 from the next group.
5088 @node Article Caching
5089 @section Article Caching
5090 @cindex article caching
5093 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5094 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5095 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5096 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5097 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5099 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5101 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5102 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5103 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5104 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5105 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5106 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5107 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5108 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5110 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5111 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5112 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5113 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5114 as dormant, and don't worry.
5116 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5118 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5119 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5120 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5121 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5122 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5123 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5124 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5125 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5126 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5127 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5129 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5130 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5131 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5132 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5133 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5134 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5135 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5136 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5137 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5138 not then be downloaded by this command.
5140 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5141 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
5142 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5143 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5144 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
5145 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
5146 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
5149 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5150 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5151 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5152 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5153 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5154 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
5155 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5156 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5157 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5161 @node Persistent Articles
5162 @section Persistent Articles
5163 @cindex persistent articles
5165 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5166 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5167 useful in my opinion.
5169 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5170 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5171 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5172 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5173 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5174 the expiry going on at the news server.
5176 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5177 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5178 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5184 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5185 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5188 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5189 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5190 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5191 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5195 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5197 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5198 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5199 interested in persistent articles:
5202 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5206 @node Article Backlog
5207 @section Article Backlog
5209 @cindex article backlog
5211 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5212 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5213 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
5214 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5215 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5216 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5217 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
5218 increase memory usage some.
5220 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5221 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
5222 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5223 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
5224 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5225 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5226 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5228 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5231 @node Saving Articles
5232 @section Saving Articles
5233 @cindex saving articles
5235 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5236 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5237 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5238 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5239 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5241 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5242 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
5243 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5245 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5246 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5247 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5248 deleted before saving.
5254 @kindex O o (Summary)
5256 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5257 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5258 Save the current article using the default article saver
5259 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5262 @kindex O m (Summary)
5263 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5264 Save the current article in mail format
5265 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5268 @kindex O r (Summary)
5269 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5270 Save the current article in rmail format
5271 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5274 @kindex O f (Summary)
5275 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5276 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5277 Save the current article in plain file format
5278 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5281 @kindex O F (Summary)
5282 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5283 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5284 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5287 @kindex O b (Summary)
5288 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5289 Save the current article body in plain file format
5290 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5293 @kindex O h (Summary)
5294 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5295 Save the current article in mh folder format
5296 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5299 @kindex O v (Summary)
5300 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5301 Save the current article in a VM folder
5302 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5305 @kindex O p (Summary)
5306 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5307 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5308 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5311 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5312 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5313 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5314 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5315 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5316 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5317 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5318 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5319 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5320 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5321 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5322 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5326 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5327 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5328 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5329 functions below, or you can create your own.
5333 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5334 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5335 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5336 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5337 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5338 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5339 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5341 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5342 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5343 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5344 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5345 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5346 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5348 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5349 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5350 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5351 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5352 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5353 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5354 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5356 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5357 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5358 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5359 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5360 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5362 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5363 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5364 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5365 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5366 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5369 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5370 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5371 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5372 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5373 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5375 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5376 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5377 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5378 reader to use this setting.
5381 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5382 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5383 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5384 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5387 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5388 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5389 available functions that generate names:
5393 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5394 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5395 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5397 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5398 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5399 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5401 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5402 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5403 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5405 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5406 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5407 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5410 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5411 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5412 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5413 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5414 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5418 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5419 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5420 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5421 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5424 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5425 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5426 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5427 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5428 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5429 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5430 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5431 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5432 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5434 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5435 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5436 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5437 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5439 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5440 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5441 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5444 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5445 lots of mail groups called things like
5446 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5447 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5448 following will do just that:
5451 (defun my-save-name (group)
5452 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5453 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5455 (setq gnus-split-methods
5456 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5461 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5462 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5463 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5464 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5465 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5466 all the files in the toplevel directory
5467 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5468 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5469 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5470 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5472 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5473 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5474 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5475 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5476 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5479 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5483 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5484 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5487 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5488 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5489 the toplevel directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5490 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5493 @node Decoding Articles
5494 @section Decoding Articles
5495 @cindex decoding articles
5497 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5498 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5501 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5502 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5503 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5504 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5505 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5506 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5510 @cindex article series
5511 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5512 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5513 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5514 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5515 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5517 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5518 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5519 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5521 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5522 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5523 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5525 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5526 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5527 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5530 @node Uuencoded Articles
5531 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5533 @cindex uuencoded articles
5538 @kindex X u (Summary)
5539 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5540 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
5541 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5544 @kindex X U (Summary)
5545 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5546 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5547 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5550 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5551 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5552 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5555 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5556 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5557 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5558 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5562 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5563 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5564 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5565 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5566 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5568 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5569 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5570 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5571 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5574 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5575 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5576 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5577 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5578 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5579 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5583 @node Shell Archives
5584 @subsection Shell Archives
5586 @cindex shell archives
5587 @cindex shared articles
5589 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
5590 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
5591 some commands to deal with these:
5596 @kindex X s (Summary)
5597 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5598 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5601 @kindex X S (Summary)
5602 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5603 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5606 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5607 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5608 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5611 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5612 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5613 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5614 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5618 @node PostScript Files
5619 @subsection PostScript Files
5625 @kindex X p (Summary)
5626 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5627 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5630 @kindex X P (Summary)
5631 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5632 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5633 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5636 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5637 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5638 View the current PostScript series
5639 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5642 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5643 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5644 View and save the current PostScript series
5645 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5650 @subsection Other Files
5654 @kindex X o (Summary)
5655 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
5656 Save the current series
5657 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
5660 @kindex X b (Summary)
5661 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
5662 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
5663 doesn't really work yet.
5667 @node Decoding Variables
5668 @subsection Decoding Variables
5670 Adjective, not verb.
5673 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5674 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5675 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5679 @node Rule Variables
5680 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5681 @cindex rule variables
5683 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5684 variables are of the form
5687 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5694 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5695 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5697 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5698 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5701 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5702 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5705 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5706 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5707 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5708 user and default view rules.
5710 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5711 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5712 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5717 @node Other Decode Variables
5718 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5721 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5723 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5724 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
5725 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5726 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5727 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5731 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5732 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5735 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5736 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5737 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5740 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5741 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5742 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5743 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5744 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5747 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5748 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5749 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5751 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5752 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5753 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5754 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5755 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5758 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5759 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5760 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5762 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5763 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5764 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5765 looking for files to display.
5767 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5768 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5769 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5772 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5773 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5774 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5777 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5778 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5779 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5782 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5783 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5784 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5787 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5788 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5789 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
5790 decoded articles as unread.
5792 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5793 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5794 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5795 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5797 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5798 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5800 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5801 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5802 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5803 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5805 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5806 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5807 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5808 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5809 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5810 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5811 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5812 simply dropped them.
5817 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5818 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5822 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5823 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5824 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5825 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5826 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5827 for you when you post the article.
5829 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5830 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5831 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5832 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5834 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5835 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5836 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5837 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
5838 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5839 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5840 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5842 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5843 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5844 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5845 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5846 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5847 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5848 Default is @code{t}.
5854 @subsection Viewing Files
5855 @cindex viewing files
5856 @cindex pseudo-articles
5858 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
5859 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
5860 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
5861 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
5862 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
5863 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
5864 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
5866 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
5867 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
5868 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
5869 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
5871 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
5872 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
5873 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
5875 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
5876 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
5877 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
5878 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
5879 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
5881 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
5882 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
5883 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
5884 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
5885 a list of parameters to that command.
5887 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
5888 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
5889 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
5891 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
5892 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
5893 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
5896 @node Article Treatment
5897 @section Article Treatment
5899 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
5900 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
5901 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
5902 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
5903 these articles easier.
5906 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
5907 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look niced.
5908 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
5909 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
5910 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
5911 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
5912 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
5916 @node Article Highlighting
5917 @subsection Article Highlighting
5920 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
5921 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
5926 @kindex W H a (Summary)
5927 @findex gnus-article-highlight
5928 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
5931 @kindex W H h (Summary)
5932 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
5933 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
5934 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
5935 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
5936 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
5937 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
5938 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name and
5939 @var{content} is the face for highlighting the header value. The first
5940 match made will be used. Note that @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^}
5941 prepended---Gnus will add one.
5944 @kindex W H c (Summary)
5945 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
5946 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
5948 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
5951 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5953 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5954 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
5955 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
5957 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5958 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5959 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
5961 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
5962 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
5963 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
5965 @item gnus-cite-face-list
5966 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
5967 List of faces used for highlighting citations. When there are citations
5968 from multiple articles in the same message, Gnus will try to give each
5969 citation from each article its own face. This should make it easier to
5972 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
5973 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
5974 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
5976 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5977 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5978 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
5980 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5981 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5982 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
5983 that it's a citation.
5985 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5986 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5987 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
5989 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5990 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5991 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
5993 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
5994 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
5995 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
5996 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6002 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6003 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6004 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6005 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6006 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6007 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6008 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6009 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6015 @node Article Fontisizing
6016 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6018 @cindex article emphasis
6020 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6021 @kindex W e (Summary)
6022 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6023 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
6024 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6025 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6027 @vindex gnus-article-emphasis
6028 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6029 @code{gnus-article-emphasis} variable. This is an alist where the first
6030 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6031 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6032 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6033 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6034 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6038 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6039 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6040 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6043 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6044 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6045 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6046 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6047 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6048 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6049 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6050 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6051 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6052 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6053 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6054 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6055 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6057 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6058 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6059 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6063 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6067 @node Article Hiding
6068 @subsection Article Hiding
6069 @cindex article hiding
6071 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6072 too much cruft in most articles.
6077 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6078 @findex gnus-article-hide
6079 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
6082 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6083 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
6084 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6088 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6089 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6090 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6091 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6094 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6095 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6096 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6100 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6101 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6102 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6103 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6104 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6105 signature has been hidden.
6108 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6109 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6110 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6111 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6114 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6115 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6116 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6117 customizing the hiding:
6121 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6122 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6123 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6124 50), hide the cited text.
6126 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6127 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6128 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6131 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
6132 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
6133 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6134 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6135 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6140 Start point of the hidden text.
6142 End point of the hidden text.
6144 Length of the hidden text.
6147 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6148 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6149 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
6154 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6155 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6156 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6157 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6158 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6159 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6163 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6164 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6165 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6167 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6168 citation customization.
6171 @node Article Washing
6172 @subsection Article Washing
6174 @cindex article washing
6176 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6177 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6179 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6180 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6186 @kindex W l (Summary)
6187 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6188 Remove page breaks from the current article
6189 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
6192 @kindex W r (Summary)
6193 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6194 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6195 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6196 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6197 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6198 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6200 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6201 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @sam{O} (letter
6202 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6203 is rumoured to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6206 @kindex W t (Summary)
6207 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6208 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6209 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6212 @kindex W v (Summary)
6213 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6214 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6215 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6218 @kindex W m (Summary)
6219 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
6220 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
6221 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
6224 @kindex W o (Summary)
6225 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6226 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6229 @kindex W w (Summary)
6230 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6231 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
6232 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
6233 late and certainly after any highlighting.
6235 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6239 @kindex W c (Summary)
6240 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6241 Remove CR (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines)
6242 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6245 @kindex W q (Summary)
6246 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
6247 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
6248 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
6249 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
6250 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
6254 @kindex W f (Summary)
6256 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6257 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6258 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6259 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6262 \gnusxface{tmp/xface-karlheg.ps}
6263 \gnusxface{tmp/xface-kyle.ps}
6264 \gnusxface{tmp/xface-smb.ps}
6267 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6268 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6269 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6270 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6271 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6272 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6273 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6274 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6275 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6276 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6277 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6278 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6279 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6280 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6284 @kindex W b (Summary)
6285 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6286 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6287 @xref{Article Buttons}
6290 @kindex W B (Summary)
6291 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6292 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6293 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6296 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6297 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6298 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6299 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6302 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6303 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6304 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6305 lines with a single empty line.
6306 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6309 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6310 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6311 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6312 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6315 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6316 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6317 Do all the three commands above
6318 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6321 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6322 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6323 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6324 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6329 @node Article Buttons
6330 @subsection Article Buttons
6333 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6334 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6335 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6336 button on these references.
6338 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6339 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6340 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6345 @item gnus-button-alist
6346 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6347 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6350 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6356 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6357 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6358 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6361 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6362 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6363 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6366 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6367 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6368 avoid false matches.
6371 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6374 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6375 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6379 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6382 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6385 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6386 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6387 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6388 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6389 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6392 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6395 @var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
6397 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6398 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6399 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6400 default values of the variables above.
6402 @item gnus-article-button-face
6403 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6404 Face used on buttons.
6406 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6407 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6408 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6414 @subsection Article Date
6416 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6417 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6418 when the article was sent.
6423 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6424 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6425 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6426 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6429 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6430 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6431 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6434 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6435 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6436 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6437 @findex format-time-string
6438 Display the date using a user-defined format
6439 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6440 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6441 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6442 for a list of possible format specs.
6445 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6446 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6447 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
6448 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}).
6451 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6452 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6453 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6454 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
6455 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6456 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6457 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6462 @node Article Signature
6463 @subsection Article Signature
6465 @cindex article signature
6467 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6468 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6469 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6470 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6471 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6472 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6473 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6474 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6475 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6478 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6479 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6480 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6481 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6482 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6483 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6484 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6485 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6488 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6491 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6492 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6497 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6500 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6503 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6504 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6506 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6507 in question is not a signature.
6510 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6511 listed above. Here's an example:
6514 (setq gnus-signature-limit
6515 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
6518 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
6519 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
6520 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
6521 signature after all.
6524 @node Article Commands
6525 @section Article Commands
6532 @kindex A P (Summary)
6533 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
6534 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
6535 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
6536 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
6537 run just before printing the buffer.
6542 @node Summary Sorting
6543 @section Summary Sorting
6544 @cindex summary sorting
6546 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6547 can't really see why you'd want that.
6552 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6553 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6554 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6557 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6558 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6559 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6562 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6563 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6564 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6567 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6568 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6569 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6572 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
6573 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
6574 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
6577 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6578 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6579 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6582 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6583 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6584 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6585 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6586 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6590 @node Finding the Parent
6591 @section Finding the Parent
6592 @cindex parent articles
6593 @cindex referring articles
6595 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6597 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6598 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6599 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6600 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6601 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6602 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6603 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6604 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6606 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6607 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6608 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
6609 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6610 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6613 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6614 @kindex A R (Summary)
6615 You can have Gnus fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References}
6616 header of the article by pushing @kbd{A R}
6617 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6619 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6620 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6622 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6623 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6624 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6625 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6626 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6627 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6628 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6630 The current select method will be used when fetching by
6631 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
6632 by giving this command a prefix.
6634 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6635 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6636 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6637 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6638 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
6639 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
6642 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6643 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6644 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6645 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6646 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6647 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6650 @node Alternative Approaches
6651 @section Alternative Approaches
6653 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6654 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6657 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6658 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6663 @subsection Pick and Read
6664 @cindex pick and read
6666 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
6667 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
6668 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
6669 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
6671 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6672 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6673 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6674 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6675 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6676 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
6678 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6683 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6684 Pick the article on the current line
6685 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
6686 go to that article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
6687 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6690 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6691 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6692 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6693 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6697 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6698 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6702 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6703 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6707 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6708 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6712 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6713 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6717 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6718 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6722 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6723 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6727 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6728 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6732 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6733 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6737 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6738 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6742 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
6743 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
6747 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6748 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6749 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6750 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6751 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6752 will still be visible when you are reading.
6756 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6759 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6762 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6763 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6765 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6766 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6767 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6769 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6770 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
6771 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6772 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6773 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6774 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6775 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6779 @subsection Binary Groups
6780 @cindex binary groups
6782 @findex gnus-binary-mode
6783 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
6784 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
6785 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
6786 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
6787 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
6788 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
6791 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
6792 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
6793 command, when you have turned on this mode
6794 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
6796 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
6797 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
6801 @section Tree Display
6804 @vindex gnus-use-trees
6805 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
6806 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
6807 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
6810 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
6813 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
6814 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
6815 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
6817 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6818 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6819 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
6820 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}. For a list of valid specs, @pxref{Summary
6823 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
6824 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
6825 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
6826 default is @code{modeline}.
6828 @item gnus-tree-line-format
6829 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
6830 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
6831 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
6832 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
6833 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
6834 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
6840 The name of the poster.
6842 The @code{From} header.
6844 The number of the article.
6846 The opening bracket.
6848 The closing bracket.
6853 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6855 Variables related to the display are:
6858 @item gnus-tree-brackets
6859 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
6860 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
6861 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
6862 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
6863 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}))}.
6865 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6866 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6867 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
6868 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
6872 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
6873 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
6874 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
6875 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
6876 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
6877 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
6878 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
6879 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
6880 other windows displayed next to it.
6882 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
6883 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
6884 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
6885 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
6886 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
6887 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
6888 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
6892 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
6895 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
6905 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
6909 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
6910 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
6912 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
6914 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
6919 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
6920 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
6921 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
6924 (setq gnus-use-trees t
6925 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
6926 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
6927 (gnus-add-configuration
6931 (summary 0.75 point)
6936 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
6939 @node Mail Group Commands
6940 @section Mail Group Commands
6941 @cindex mail group commands
6943 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
6944 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
6946 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
6947 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6952 @kindex B e (Summary)
6953 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
6954 Expire all expirable articles in the group
6955 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
6958 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
6959 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
6960 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
6961 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
6962 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
6963 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
6966 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
6967 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
6968 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
6969 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
6970 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
6971 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
6974 @kindex B m (Summary)
6976 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
6977 Move the article from one mail group to another
6978 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6981 @kindex B c (Summary)
6983 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
6984 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
6985 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
6986 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
6989 @kindex B C (Summary)
6990 @cindex crosspost mail
6991 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
6992 Crosspost the current article to some other group
6993 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
6994 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
6995 be properly updated.
6998 @kindex B i (Summary)
6999 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7000 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7001 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7002 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7005 @kindex B r (Summary)
7006 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7007 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7008 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7009 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7010 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7014 @kindex B w (Summary)
7016 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7017 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7018 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7019 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7020 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}).
7023 @kindex B q (Summary)
7024 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7025 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7026 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7027 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7030 @kindex B p (Summary)
7031 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7032 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7033 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7034 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7035 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7036 article from your news server (or rather, from
7037 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7038 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7039 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7040 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7041 just not have arrived yet.
7045 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7046 @cindex moving articles
7047 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
7048 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7049 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7050 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7051 suggestions you find reasonable.
7054 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7055 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7056 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7057 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7061 @node Various Summary Stuff
7062 @section Various Summary Stuff
7065 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7066 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7067 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7068 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7072 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7073 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7074 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7076 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7077 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7078 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7079 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7080 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7081 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7084 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7085 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7086 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7087 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7088 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7090 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7091 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7092 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7093 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7094 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7095 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7096 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
7097 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7098 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7099 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7104 @node Summary Group Information
7105 @subsection Summary Group Information
7110 @kindex H f (Summary)
7111 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7112 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
7113 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
7114 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
7115 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
7116 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
7117 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
7118 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
7119 be used for fetching the file.
7122 @kindex H d (Summary)
7123 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
7124 Give a brief description of the current group
7125 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
7126 rereading the description from the server.
7129 @kindex H h (Summary)
7130 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
7131 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
7132 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
7135 @kindex H i (Summary)
7136 @findex gnus-info-find-node
7137 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
7141 @node Searching for Articles
7142 @subsection Searching for Articles
7147 @kindex M-s (Summary)
7148 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
7149 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
7150 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
7153 @kindex M-r (Summary)
7154 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
7155 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
7156 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
7160 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
7161 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
7162 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
7163 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
7167 @kindex M-& (Summary)
7168 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
7169 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
7170 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
7173 @node Summary Generation Commands
7174 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
7179 @kindex Y g (Summary)
7180 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
7181 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
7184 @kindex Y c (Summary)
7185 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
7186 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
7187 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
7192 @node Really Various Summary Commands
7193 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
7198 @kindex C-d (Summary)
7199 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
7200 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
7201 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
7202 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
7203 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
7204 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
7205 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
7206 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
7210 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
7211 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
7212 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
7213 several documents into one biiig group
7214 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
7215 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
7216 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
7217 command understands the process/prefix convention
7218 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7221 @kindex C-t (Summary)
7222 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
7223 Toggle truncation of summary lines
7224 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
7225 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
7226 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
7230 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
7231 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
7232 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
7237 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
7238 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
7239 @cindex summary exit
7240 @cindex exiting groups
7242 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
7243 group and return you to the group buffer.
7249 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
7251 @findex gnus-summary-exit
7252 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
7253 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
7254 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
7255 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
7256 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
7257 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
7258 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
7259 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
7260 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
7261 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
7265 @kindex Z E (Summary)
7267 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
7268 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
7269 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
7273 @kindex Z c (Summary)
7275 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
7276 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
7277 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
7278 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
7281 @kindex Z C (Summary)
7282 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
7283 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
7284 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
7287 @kindex Z n (Summary)
7288 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
7289 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
7290 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
7293 @kindex Z R (Summary)
7294 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
7295 Exit this group, and then enter it again
7296 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
7297 all articles, both read and unread.
7301 @kindex Z G (Summary)
7302 @kindex M-g (Summary)
7303 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
7304 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
7305 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
7306 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
7307 articles, both read and unread.
7310 @kindex Z N (Summary)
7311 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
7312 Exit the group and go to the next group
7313 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
7316 @kindex Z P (Summary)
7317 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
7318 Exit the group and go to the previous group
7319 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
7322 @kindex Z s (Summary)
7323 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
7324 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
7325 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
7326 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
7327 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
7330 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
7331 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
7334 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
7335 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
7336 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
7337 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
7338 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
7339 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
7340 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
7341 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
7342 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
7343 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
7344 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
7345 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
7347 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
7349 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
7350 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
7351 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
7352 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
7353 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
7354 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
7355 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
7356 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
7357 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7360 @node Crosspost Handling
7361 @section Crosspost Handling
7365 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7366 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7367 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7368 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7369 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7370 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7373 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7374 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7375 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7376 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7377 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7379 @cindex cross-posting
7382 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7383 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7384 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7385 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7386 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7387 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7388 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7389 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7390 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7391 the cross reference mechanism.
7393 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7394 @cindex overview.fmt
7395 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7396 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7397 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7398 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7399 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7400 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7403 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7404 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7405 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7410 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7413 @node Duplicate Suppression
7414 @section Duplicate Suppression
7416 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7417 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7418 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7419 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
7424 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7425 is evil and not very common.
7428 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7429 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7432 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7433 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7436 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7439 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
7440 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7442 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7443 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7444 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7445 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7446 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7447 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7448 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7451 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7452 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7453 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7454 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7455 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7459 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7460 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7461 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7463 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7464 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7465 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7466 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7467 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
7468 session are suppressed.
7470 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7471 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7472 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7473 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7475 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7476 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7477 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
7478 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7481 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
7482 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7483 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7484 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7485 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
7486 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7487 to you to figure out, I think.
7490 @node The Article Buffer
7491 @chapter The Article Buffer
7492 @cindex article buffer
7494 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7495 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7496 tell Gnus otherwise.
7499 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7500 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
7501 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7502 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7503 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7507 @node Hiding Headers
7508 @section Hiding Headers
7509 @cindex hiding headers
7510 @cindex deleting headers
7512 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7513 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7515 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7516 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7517 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7518 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7519 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7520 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7521 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7522 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7523 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7525 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7529 @item gnus-visible-headers
7530 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7531 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7532 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7533 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7535 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7536 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7539 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7542 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7545 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7546 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7547 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7548 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7549 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7550 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7552 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
7553 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
7556 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7559 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7562 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7563 variable will have no effect.
7567 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7568 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7569 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7570 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7571 the headers are to be displayed.
7573 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7574 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7577 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7580 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7581 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
7583 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7584 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7585 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7586 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7587 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7588 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7589 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7590 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7591 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
7593 These conditions are:
7596 Remove all empty headers.
7598 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7601 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7602 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7604 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7607 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7611 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
7614 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7615 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
7618 This is also the default value for this variable.
7622 @section Using @sc{mime}
7625 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7626 while people stand around yawning.
7628 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7629 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7631 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7632 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7633 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7635 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7636 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
7637 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7638 @findex metamail-buffer
7639 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7640 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
7641 default. Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7642 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7643 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7644 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7645 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7646 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7648 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
7649 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
7650 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
7651 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
7652 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
7653 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
7654 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
7655 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
7656 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
7658 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7661 @node Customizing Articles
7662 @section Customizing Articles
7663 @cindex article customization
7665 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7666 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7667 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7668 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7670 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7671 By default this hook just contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
7672 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
7673 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
7674 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7675 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7676 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7677 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
7678 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
7680 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7681 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7682 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7683 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
7684 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
7687 @node Article Keymap
7688 @section Article Keymap
7690 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
7691 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
7692 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
7693 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7696 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7701 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7702 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7703 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7706 @kindex DEL (Article)
7707 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7708 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7711 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7712 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7713 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7714 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7715 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7718 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7719 @findex gnus-article-mail
7720 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7721 given a prefix, include the mail.
7725 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7726 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7727 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7731 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7732 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7733 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7736 @kindex TAB (Article)
7737 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7738 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
7739 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7742 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7743 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7744 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
7750 @section Misc Article
7754 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
7755 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
7756 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
7757 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
7760 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
7761 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
7762 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
7763 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
7764 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
7765 the contents of the article buffer.
7767 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7768 @item gnus-article-display-hook
7769 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
7770 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
7771 hiding headers, and the like.
7773 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
7774 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
7775 Hook called in article mode buffers.
7777 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7778 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7779 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
7780 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
7782 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
7783 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
7784 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
7785 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
7786 format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
7790 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
7791 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
7795 @vindex gnus-break-pages
7797 @item gnus-break-pages
7798 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
7799 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
7800 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
7801 paging will not be done.
7803 @item gnus-page-delimiter
7804 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
7805 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
7810 @node Composing Messages
7811 @chapter Composing Messages
7816 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
7817 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
7818 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
7819 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
7820 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
7821 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
7822 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
7825 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
7826 * Post:: Posting and following up.
7827 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
7828 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
7829 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
7830 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
7831 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
7834 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
7835 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
7841 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
7844 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
7845 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
7846 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
7847 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
7849 @item gnus-add-to-list
7850 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
7851 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
7852 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
7860 Variables for composing news articles:
7863 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7864 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7865 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
7866 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
7867 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
7868 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
7869 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
7870 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
7871 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
7874 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7875 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7876 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
7877 file. It is 1000 by default.
7882 @node Posting Server
7883 @section Posting Server
7885 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
7886 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
7888 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
7890 @vindex gnus-post-method
7892 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
7893 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
7894 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
7895 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
7896 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
7899 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
7902 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
7903 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
7904 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
7905 the ``current'' server for posting.
7907 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
7908 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
7910 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
7911 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
7916 @section Mail and Post
7918 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
7922 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
7923 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
7924 @cindex mailing lists
7926 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
7927 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
7928 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
7929 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
7930 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
7931 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
7932 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
7933 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
7934 still a pain, though.
7938 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
7939 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
7940 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
7943 @findex ispell-message
7945 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
7949 @node Archived Messages
7950 @section Archived Messages
7951 @cindex archived messages
7952 @cindex sent messages
7954 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
7955 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
7956 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
7957 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
7960 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
7961 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
7962 use to store sent messages. The default is:
7966 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive/"))
7969 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
7970 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
7971 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
7972 directory chosen, you could say something like:
7975 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
7976 '(nnfolder "archive"
7977 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
7978 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
7979 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
7982 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
7984 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
7985 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
7986 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
7988 This variable can be used to do the following:
7992 Messages will be saved in that group.
7993 @item a list of strings
7994 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
7995 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
7996 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
7998 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
8003 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
8005 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
8008 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
8010 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
8013 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
8015 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8016 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
8017 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
8018 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
8023 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8024 '((if (message-news-p)
8029 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
8030 messages in one file per month:
8033 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8034 '((if (message-news-p)
8036 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
8037 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
8040 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
8041 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
8043 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
8044 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
8045 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
8046 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
8047 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
8048 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
8049 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
8050 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
8051 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
8052 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
8054 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
8055 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
8056 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
8057 this will disable archiving.
8060 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
8061 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
8062 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
8063 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
8064 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
8067 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
8068 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
8069 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
8072 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
8073 but the latter is the preferred method.
8077 @c @node Posting Styles
8078 @c @section Posting Styles
8079 @c @cindex posting styles
8082 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
8084 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
8085 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
8086 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
8089 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
8090 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
8091 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
8092 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
8093 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
8098 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
8099 @c (organization . "What me?"))
8101 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
8102 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
8103 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
8106 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
8107 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
8108 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
8109 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
8110 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
8111 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
8112 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
8113 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
8115 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
8116 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
8117 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
8118 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
8119 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
8120 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
8123 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
8124 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
8125 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
8126 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
8127 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
8130 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
8131 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
8132 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
8134 @c So here's a new example:
8137 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
8139 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
8140 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
8141 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
8142 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
8144 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
8145 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
8146 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
8147 @c (posting-from-work-p
8148 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
8149 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
8150 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
8152 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
8159 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
8160 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
8161 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
8162 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
8163 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
8165 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
8166 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
8167 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
8168 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
8169 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
8173 @vindex nndraft-directory
8174 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
8175 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
8176 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
8177 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
8178 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
8179 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
8181 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
8182 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
8185 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
8186 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
8187 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
8188 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
8189 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
8190 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
8191 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
8192 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
8193 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
8194 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
8195 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
8196 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
8197 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
8198 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
8200 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
8201 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
8202 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
8204 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
8206 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
8207 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
8208 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
8210 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
8213 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
8214 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
8215 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
8216 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
8217 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
8218 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
8219 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
8222 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
8223 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
8224 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
8227 @node Rejected Articles
8228 @section Rejected Articles
8229 @cindex rejected articles
8231 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
8232 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
8233 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
8234 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
8236 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
8237 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
8238 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
8239 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
8240 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
8242 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
8243 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
8244 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
8247 @node Select Methods
8248 @chapter Select Methods
8249 @cindex foreign groups
8250 @cindex select methods
8252 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
8253 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
8254 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
8255 personal mail group.
8257 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
8258 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
8259 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
8260 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
8261 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
8262 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
8264 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
8265 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
8267 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
8270 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
8271 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
8272 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
8273 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
8274 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
8276 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
8279 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
8280 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
8281 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
8282 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
8283 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
8284 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
8288 @node The Server Buffer
8289 @section The Server Buffer
8291 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
8292 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
8293 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
8294 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
8295 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
8296 backend represents a virtual server.
8298 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
8299 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
8300 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
8301 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
8303 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
8304 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
8305 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
8306 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
8307 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
8308 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
8309 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
8311 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
8312 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
8315 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
8316 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
8317 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
8318 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
8319 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
8320 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
8321 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
8324 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
8325 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
8328 @node Server Buffer Format
8329 @subsection Server Buffer Format
8330 @cindex server buffer format
8332 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
8333 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
8334 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
8335 variable, with some simple extensions:
8340 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
8343 The name of this server.
8346 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
8349 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
8352 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
8353 The mode line can also be customized by using the
8354 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
8365 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
8368 @node Server Commands
8369 @subsection Server Commands
8370 @cindex server commands
8376 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8377 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8381 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8382 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8385 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8386 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8387 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8391 @findex gnus-server-exit
8392 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8396 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8397 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8401 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8402 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8406 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8407 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8411 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8412 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8416 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8417 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8418 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8423 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8424 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8425 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8426 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8431 @node Example Methods
8432 @subsection Example Methods
8434 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8437 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8440 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8446 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8447 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8450 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
8451 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
8453 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
8454 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
8458 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
8461 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
8462 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
8464 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
8465 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
8466 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
8470 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
8473 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
8476 Here's the method for a public spool:
8480 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
8481 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
8484 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
8485 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
8486 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
8487 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
8488 should probably look something like this:
8492 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
8493 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8494 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8495 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8496 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
8501 @node Creating a Virtual Server
8502 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
8504 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
8505 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
8507 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
8508 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
8509 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
8511 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
8513 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
8514 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
8515 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
8516 will contain the following:
8526 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
8527 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
8528 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
8531 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
8532 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
8533 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
8536 @node Server Variables
8537 @subsection Server Variables
8539 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
8540 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
8541 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
8542 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
8543 won't change the "derived" variables.
8545 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
8546 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
8547 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
8548 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
8549 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
8550 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
8551 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
8552 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
8553 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
8557 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
8558 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
8559 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
8563 @node Servers and Methods
8564 @subsection Servers and Methods
8566 Wherever you would normally use a select method
8567 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
8568 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
8569 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
8573 @node Unavailable Servers
8574 @subsection Unavailable Servers
8576 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
8577 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
8578 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
8579 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
8580 actually the case or not.
8582 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
8583 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
8584 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
8585 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
8586 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
8587 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
8588 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
8589 it will regard that server as ``down''.
8591 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
8592 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
8594 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
8595 with the following commands:
8601 @findex gnus-server-open-server
8602 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
8603 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
8607 @findex gnus-server-close-server
8608 Close the connection (if any) to the server
8609 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
8613 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
8614 Mark the current server as unreachable
8615 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
8618 @kindex M-o (Server)
8619 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
8620 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
8621 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
8624 @kindex M-c (Server)
8625 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
8626 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
8627 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
8631 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
8632 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
8633 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
8639 @section Getting News
8640 @cindex reading news
8641 @cindex news backends
8643 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
8644 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
8645 or it can read from a local spool.
8648 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
8649 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
8654 @subsection @sc{nntp}
8657 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
8658 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
8659 server as the, uhm, address.
8661 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
8662 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
8663 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
8664 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8666 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
8667 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
8668 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
8670 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
8675 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
8676 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
8677 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
8679 @cindex authentification
8680 @cindex nntp authentification
8681 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8682 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
8683 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
8684 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
8685 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
8686 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
8687 present in this hook.
8689 @item nntp-authinfo-function
8690 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
8691 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
8692 server. Available functions include:
8695 @item nntp-send-authinfo
8696 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8697 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
8698 prompt you for the password. This is the default.
8700 @item nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8701 @findex nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8702 This function will prompt you for both user name and password.
8704 @item nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8705 @findex nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8706 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
8707 read the @sc{nntp} password from @file{~/.nntp-authinfo}.
8710 @item nntp-server-action-alist
8711 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
8712 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
8713 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
8714 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
8717 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
8721 You probably don't want to do that, though.
8723 The default value is
8726 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
8727 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
8730 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
8731 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
8733 @item nntp-maximum-request
8734 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
8735 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
8736 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
8737 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
8738 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
8739 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
8740 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
8742 @item nntp-connection-timeout
8743 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
8744 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
8745 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
8746 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
8747 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
8748 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
8749 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
8750 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
8751 no timeouts are done.
8753 @item nntp-command-timeout
8754 @vindex nntp-command-timeout
8755 @cindex PPP connections
8756 @cindex dynamic IP addresses
8757 If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
8758 address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
8759 changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
8760 waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
8761 unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
8762 then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
8763 number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
8764 the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
8765 likely number is 30 seconds.
8767 @item nntp-retry-on-break
8768 @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
8769 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
8770 hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
8773 @item nntp-server-hook
8774 @vindex nntp-server-hook
8775 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
8778 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
8779 @findex nntp-open-telnet
8780 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
8781 @item nntp-open-connection-function
8782 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
8783 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Three pre-made
8784 functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
8785 simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
8786 two are @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an @samp{rlogin} on the
8787 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
8788 available there, and @code{nntp-open-telnet}, which does a @samp{telnet}
8789 to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet} to get to the
8792 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
8796 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
8797 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
8798 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
8800 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
8801 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
8802 User name on the remote system.
8806 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
8809 @item nntp-telnet-command
8810 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
8811 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
8813 @item nntp-telnet-switches
8814 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
8815 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
8817 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
8818 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
8819 User name for log in on the remote system.
8821 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
8822 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
8823 Password to use when logging in.
8825 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
8826 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
8827 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
8832 @item nntp-end-of-line
8833 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
8834 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
8835 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
8836 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
8838 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
8839 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
8840 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
8844 @vindex nntp-address
8845 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
8847 @item nntp-port-number
8848 @vindex nntp-port-number
8849 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
8852 @item nntp-buggy-select
8853 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
8854 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
8856 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
8857 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
8858 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
8859 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
8862 @item nntp-xover-commands
8863 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
8866 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
8867 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
8871 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
8872 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
8873 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
8874 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
8875 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
8876 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
8877 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
8878 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
8879 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
8880 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
8881 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
8883 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
8884 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
8885 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
8887 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8888 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8889 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
8890 server closes connection.
8896 @subsection News Spool
8900 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
8901 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
8902 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
8905 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @samp{} (or
8906 anything else) as the address.
8908 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
8909 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
8910 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
8911 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
8915 @item nnspool-inews-program
8916 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
8917 Program used to post an article.
8919 @item nnspool-inews-switches
8920 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
8921 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
8923 @item nnspool-spool-directory
8924 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
8925 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
8926 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
8928 @item nnspool-nov-directory
8929 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
8930 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
8931 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
8933 @item nnspool-lib-dir
8934 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
8935 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
8937 @item nnspool-active-file
8938 @vindex nnspool-active-file
8939 The path to the active file.
8941 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
8942 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
8943 The path to the group descriptions file.
8945 @item nnspool-history-file
8946 @vindex nnspool-history-file
8947 The path to the news history file.
8949 @item nnspool-active-times-file
8950 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
8951 The path to the active date file.
8953 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
8954 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
8955 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
8958 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8959 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8961 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
8962 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
8963 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
8969 @section Getting Mail
8970 @cindex reading mail
8973 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
8977 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
8978 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
8979 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
8980 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
8981 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
8982 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
8983 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
8984 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
8985 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
8986 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
8987 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
8991 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
8992 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
8994 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
8995 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
8996 and things will happen automatically.
8998 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
8999 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
9002 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
9003 '((nnml "private")))
9006 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
9007 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
9008 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
9009 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
9010 like any other group.
9012 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
9015 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9016 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9017 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9021 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
9022 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
9023 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
9026 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
9027 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
9028 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
9031 @node Splitting Mail
9032 @subsection Splitting Mail
9033 @cindex splitting mail
9034 @cindex mail splitting
9036 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
9037 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
9038 to be split into groups.
9041 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9042 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9043 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9047 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
9048 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
9049 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
9050 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
9051 determine if it belongs in this mail group.
9053 If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
9054 that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
9057 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
9058 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
9059 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
9060 mail belongs in that group.
9062 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
9063 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
9064 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
9065 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
9066 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
9067 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
9069 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
9070 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
9071 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
9072 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
9073 thinks should carry this mail message.
9075 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
9076 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
9077 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
9078 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
9080 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
9081 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
9082 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
9083 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
9084 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
9086 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
9089 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
9090 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
9091 links. If that's the case for you, set
9092 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
9093 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
9095 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
9096 @kindex nnmail-split-history
9097 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
9098 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
9100 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
9101 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
9102 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
9103 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
9104 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
9105 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
9106 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
9107 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
9111 @node Mail Backend Variables
9112 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
9114 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
9118 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9119 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9120 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
9121 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
9123 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
9124 @item nnmail-spool-file
9128 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
9129 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
9130 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
9131 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
9132 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
9133 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
9134 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
9135 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
9136 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
9137 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
9138 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
9139 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
9140 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
9141 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
9142 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
9144 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
9146 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
9147 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
9150 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
9151 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
9152 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
9153 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
9154 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
9155 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
9157 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9158 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9159 @item nnmail-use-procmail
9160 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
9161 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
9162 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
9163 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
9166 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
9167 @item nnmail-crash-box
9168 When a mail backend reads a spool file, mail is first moved to this
9169 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
9170 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
9173 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9174 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9175 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
9176 used for, well, anything, really.
9178 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
9179 @item nnmail-split-hook
9180 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
9181 @findex RFC1522 decoding
9182 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
9183 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
9184 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
9185 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
9186 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{gnus-article-decode-rfc1522}
9187 is one likely function to add to this hook.
9189 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9190 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9191 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9192 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9193 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
9194 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
9195 starting to handle the new mail) and
9196 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
9197 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
9198 default file modes the new mail files get:
9201 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9202 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
9204 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
9205 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
9208 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
9209 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
9210 This variable says where to move incoming mail to -- while processing
9211 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
9212 inhabits (e.g., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
9213 it will be used instead.
9215 @item nnmail-movemail-program
9216 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
9217 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
9218 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
9220 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
9221 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
9224 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
9225 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
9226 @cindex incoming mail files
9227 @cindex deleting incoming files
9228 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
9229 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
9232 @c This is @code{nil} by
9233 @c default for reasons of security.
9235 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
9236 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
9237 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
9238 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure not
9239 to lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
9242 You may delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
9244 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
9245 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
9246 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
9247 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
9248 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
9249 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
9250 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
9252 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
9253 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
9255 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
9257 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9258 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9259 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
9260 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
9261 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
9266 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
9267 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
9268 @cindex mail splitting
9269 @cindex fancy mail splitting
9271 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
9272 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
9273 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
9274 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
9275 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
9276 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
9278 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
9281 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
9282 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
9283 ;; from real errors.
9284 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
9286 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
9287 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
9288 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
9289 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
9290 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
9291 ;; Other mailing lists...
9292 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
9293 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
9295 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
9296 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
9300 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
9301 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
9302 the five possible split syntaxes:
9307 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
9310 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, the first element of
9311 which is a string, then store the message as specified by SPLIT, if
9312 header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp).
9315 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9316 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
9317 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
9318 be stored in one or more groups.
9321 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9322 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
9325 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
9326 this message anywhere.
9329 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
9330 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
9331 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
9336 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
9337 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
9338 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
9339 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
9340 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
9342 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
9343 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
9344 are expanded as specified by the variable
9345 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
9346 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
9349 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
9350 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
9351 when all this splitting is performed.
9353 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
9354 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
9355 substitions in the group names), you can say things like:
9358 (any "debian-\(\\w*\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
9361 @node Mail and Procmail
9362 @subsection Mail and Procmail
9367 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
9368 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
9369 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
9370 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
9371 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
9373 This also means that you probably don't want to set
9374 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
9377 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
9378 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
9379 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends, except
9380 @code{nnmh}, actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
9381 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
9382 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
9384 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) by hand what
9387 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example:
9389 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
9390 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
9392 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
9393 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
9394 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
9395 to include all your mail groups.
9397 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
9398 method will be created automatically.
9400 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9401 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
9402 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
9403 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
9404 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
9405 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
9406 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
9407 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
9409 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
9410 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
9411 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
9412 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
9413 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
9415 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9416 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directly into an @code{nnmh}
9417 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
9418 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
9419 ever expiring the final article (i.e., the article with the highest
9420 article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
9422 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
9423 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i.e., the incoming
9424 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
9425 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
9426 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
9429 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
9430 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
9431 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
9432 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
9433 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
9437 @node Incorporating Old Mail
9438 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
9440 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
9441 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
9442 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
9445 Doing so can be quite easy.
9447 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
9448 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
9449 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
9450 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
9451 your @code{nnml} groups.
9457 Go to the group buffer.
9460 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
9461 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9464 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
9467 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
9468 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
9471 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
9472 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
9475 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
9476 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
9477 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
9478 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
9479 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
9481 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
9482 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
9483 using the new mail backend.
9487 @subsection Expiring Mail
9488 @cindex article expiry
9490 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
9491 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
9492 different approach to mail reading.
9494 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
9495 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
9496 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
9497 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
9498 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
9499 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
9502 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
9503 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
9504 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
9505 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
9506 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
9507 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
9508 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
9509 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
9511 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9512 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
9513 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
9514 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
9515 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
9516 column in the summary buffer.
9518 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
9519 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
9520 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
9521 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
9524 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
9526 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
9527 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
9528 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
9531 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
9532 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
9533 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
9534 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
9535 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
9537 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
9538 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
9541 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9542 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
9545 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
9546 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
9548 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
9549 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
9550 don't really mix very well.
9552 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
9553 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
9554 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
9555 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
9558 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
9559 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
9560 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
9561 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
9564 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9566 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9568 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
9570 ((string= group "mail.junk")
9572 ((string= group "important")
9578 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
9579 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
9581 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
9582 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
9583 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
9586 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
9587 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9589 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9590 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
9591 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
9592 easier for procmail users.
9594 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
9595 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
9596 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
9597 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
9598 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
9599 caution. Even more dangerous is the
9600 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
9601 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
9602 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
9603 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
9604 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
9605 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
9606 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
9609 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
9613 @subsection Washing Mail
9614 @cindex mail washing
9615 @cindex list server brain damage
9616 @cindex incoming mail treatment
9618 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
9619 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
9620 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
9621 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
9622 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
9623 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
9625 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
9626 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
9627 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
9630 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
9631 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
9632 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
9633 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
9636 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9637 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9638 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
9639 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
9642 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9643 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9644 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
9645 Emacs running on MS machines.
9649 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9650 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9651 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
9652 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
9655 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9656 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9657 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
9658 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
9660 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9661 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9662 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
9663 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
9664 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
9665 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
9666 also be a list of regexp.
9668 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
9669 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
9672 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
9673 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
9676 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
9677 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
9678 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
9682 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9683 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9684 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
9688 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
9689 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
9690 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
9697 @subsection Duplicates
9699 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
9700 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
9701 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
9702 @cindex duplicate mails
9703 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
9704 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
9705 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
9706 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
9707 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
9708 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
9709 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
9710 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
9711 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
9712 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
9713 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
9714 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
9715 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
9717 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
9718 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
9719 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
9720 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
9722 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
9725 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
9726 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
9730 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
9731 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
9732 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
9733 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
9734 (any mail "mail.misc")
9741 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9742 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
9747 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
9748 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
9749 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
9750 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
9751 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
9754 @node Not Reading Mail
9755 @subsection Not Reading Mail
9757 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
9758 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
9759 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
9761 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
9762 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
9764 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9765 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9766 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9767 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9768 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9769 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
9770 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
9771 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
9772 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
9773 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
9774 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
9776 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
9777 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
9781 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
9782 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
9784 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
9785 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
9786 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
9789 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
9790 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
9791 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
9792 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
9793 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
9798 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
9800 @cindex unix mail box
9802 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9803 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9804 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
9805 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
9806 which group it belongs in.
9808 Virtual server settings:
9811 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
9812 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9813 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
9815 @item nnmbox-active-file
9816 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9817 The name of the active file for the mail box.
9819 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
9820 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9821 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
9827 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
9831 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9832 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9833 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
9834 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
9835 article to say which group it belongs in.
9837 Virtual server settings:
9840 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
9841 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9842 The name of the rmail mbox file.
9844 @item nnbabyl-active-file
9845 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9846 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
9848 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9849 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9850 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
9855 @subsubsection Mail Spool
9857 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
9859 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
9860 format. It should be used with some caution.
9862 @vindex nnml-directory
9863 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
9864 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
9865 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
9866 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
9868 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
9871 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
9872 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
9873 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
9874 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
9875 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
9876 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
9877 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
9878 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
9880 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
9881 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
9882 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
9883 backend when it comes to reading mail.
9885 Virtual server settings:
9888 @item nnml-directory
9889 @vindex nnml-directory
9890 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
9892 @item nnml-active-file
9893 @vindex nnml-active-file
9894 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
9896 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
9897 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
9898 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
9901 @item nnml-get-new-mail
9902 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9903 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
9905 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
9906 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
9907 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
9909 @item nnml-nov-file-name
9910 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
9911 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
9913 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9914 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9915 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
9919 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
9920 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
9921 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
9922 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
9923 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
9924 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
9925 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
9930 @subsubsection MH Spool
9932 @cindex mh-e mail spool
9934 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
9935 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
9936 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
9937 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
9939 Virtual server settings:
9942 @item nnmh-directory
9943 @vindex nnmh-directory
9944 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
9946 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
9947 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9948 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
9951 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
9952 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
9953 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
9954 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
9955 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
9956 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
9957 to set this variable to @code{t}.
9962 @subsubsection Mail Folders
9964 @cindex mbox folders
9965 @cindex mail folders
9967 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
9968 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
9969 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
9972 Virtual server settings:
9975 @item nnfolder-directory
9976 @vindex nnfolder-directory
9977 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
9979 @item nnfolder-active-file
9980 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
9981 The name of the active file.
9983 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9984 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9985 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
9987 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
9988 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9989 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
9992 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
9993 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
9994 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
9995 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
9996 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
9997 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
10000 @node Other Sources
10001 @section Other Sources
10003 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
10004 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
10008 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
10009 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
10010 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
10011 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
10012 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
10013 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
10017 @node Directory Groups
10018 @subsection Directory Groups
10020 @cindex directory groups
10022 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
10023 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
10026 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
10027 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
10028 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
10029 backend to read directories. Big deal.
10031 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
10032 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
10033 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
10034 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
10035 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
10037 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
10039 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
10040 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
10041 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
10042 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
10045 @node Anything Groups
10046 @subsection Anything Groups
10049 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
10050 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
10051 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
10054 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
10055 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
10056 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
10057 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
10058 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
10059 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
10060 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
10061 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
10062 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
10063 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
10066 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
10067 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
10068 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
10069 in the article buffer, just as usual.
10071 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
10072 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
10073 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
10074 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
10076 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
10077 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
10078 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
10079 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
10080 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
10081 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
10082 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
10083 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
10088 @item nneething-map-file-directory
10089 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
10090 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
10091 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
10093 @item nneething-exclude-files
10094 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
10095 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
10096 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
10098 @item nneething-map-file
10099 @vindex nneething-map-file
10100 Name of the map files.
10104 @node Document Groups
10105 @subsection Document Groups
10107 @cindex documentation group
10110 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
10111 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
10118 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
10123 The standard Unix mbox file.
10125 @cindex MMDF mail box
10127 The MMDF mail box format.
10130 Several news articles appended into a file.
10133 @cindex rnews batch files
10134 The rnews batch transport format.
10135 @cindex forwarded messages
10138 Forwarded articles.
10142 @cindex MIME digest
10143 @cindex 1153 digest
10144 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
10145 @cindex RFC 341 digest
10146 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
10148 @item standard-digest
10149 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
10152 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
10155 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
10156 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
10157 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
10160 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
10161 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
10162 group. And that's it.
10164 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
10165 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
10166 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
10167 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
10168 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
10169 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
10170 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
10171 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
10172 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
10173 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
10175 Virtual server variables:
10178 @item nndoc-article-type
10179 @vindex nndoc-article-type
10180 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
10181 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
10182 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-digest}, @code{standard-digest},
10183 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs} or @code{guess}.
10185 @item nndoc-post-type
10186 @vindex nndoc-post-type
10187 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
10188 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
10193 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
10197 @node Document Server Internals
10198 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
10200 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
10201 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
10202 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
10203 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
10205 First, here's an example document type definition:
10209 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
10210 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
10213 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
10214 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
10215 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
10216 types can be defined with very few settings:
10219 @item first-article
10220 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
10221 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
10224 @item article-begin
10225 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
10226 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
10228 @item head-begin-function
10229 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
10232 @item nndoc-head-begin
10233 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
10236 @item nndoc-head-end
10237 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
10238 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
10240 @item body-begin-function
10241 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
10245 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
10248 @item body-end-function
10249 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
10253 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
10256 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
10257 regexp will be totally ignored.
10261 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
10262 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
10263 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
10264 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
10265 something that's palatable for Gnus:
10268 @item prepare-body-function
10269 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
10270 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
10271 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
10273 @item article-transform-function
10274 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
10275 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
10276 body of the article.
10278 @item generate-head-function
10279 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
10280 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
10281 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
10282 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
10286 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
10291 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10292 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10293 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
10294 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
10295 (head-end . "^ ?$")
10296 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
10297 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
10298 (subtype digest guess))
10301 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
10302 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
10303 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
10304 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
10305 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
10307 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
10308 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
10309 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
10310 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
10311 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
10312 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
10313 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
10314 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
10315 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
10316 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
10324 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
10325 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
10326 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
10328 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
10329 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
10330 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
10333 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
10334 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
10335 that interested in doing things properly.
10337 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
10338 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
10341 First some terminology:
10346 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
10347 get news and/or mail from.
10350 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
10351 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
10354 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
10358 @item message packets
10359 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
10360 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
10361 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10363 @item response packets
10364 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
10365 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
10366 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10376 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
10377 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
10378 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
10379 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
10382 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
10385 You put the packet in your home directory.
10388 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
10389 the native or secondary server.
10392 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
10393 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
10396 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
10400 You transfer this packet to the server.
10403 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
10406 You then repeat until you die.
10410 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
10411 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
10414 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
10415 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
10416 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
10420 @node SOUP Commands
10421 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
10423 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
10427 @kindex G s b (Group)
10428 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
10429 Pack all unread articles in the current group
10430 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
10431 process/prefix convention.
10434 @kindex G s w (Group)
10435 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
10436 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
10439 @kindex G s s (Group)
10440 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
10441 Send all replies from the replies packet
10442 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
10445 @kindex G s p (Group)
10446 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
10447 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
10450 @kindex G s r (Group)
10451 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
10452 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
10455 @kindex O s (Summary)
10456 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
10457 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
10458 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
10459 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10464 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
10469 @item gnus-soup-directory
10470 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
10471 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
10472 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
10474 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
10475 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
10476 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
10477 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
10479 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
10480 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
10481 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
10482 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
10484 @item gnus-soup-packer
10485 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
10486 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10487 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
10489 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
10490 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
10491 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10492 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10494 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
10495 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
10496 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
10498 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10499 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10500 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
10501 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
10507 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
10510 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
10511 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
10512 you can read them at leisure.
10514 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
10518 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
10519 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
10520 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
10521 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
10523 @item nnsoup-directory
10524 @vindex nnsoup-directory
10525 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
10526 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
10528 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
10529 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
10530 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
10531 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
10533 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
10534 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
10535 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
10536 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
10537 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
10539 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
10540 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
10541 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
10542 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
10544 @item nnsoup-active-file
10545 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
10546 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
10547 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
10548 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
10549 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
10551 @item nnsoup-packer
10552 @vindex nnsoup-packer
10553 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
10554 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
10556 @item nnsoup-unpacker
10557 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
10558 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
10559 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10561 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
10562 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
10563 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
10566 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
10567 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
10568 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
10575 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
10577 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
10578 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
10579 more for that to happen.
10581 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
10582 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
10583 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
10586 In specific, this is what it does:
10589 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
10590 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
10593 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
10594 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
10595 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
10599 @subsection Web Searches
10603 @cindex InReference
10604 @cindex Usenet searches
10605 @cindex searching the Usenet
10607 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
10608 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
10609 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
10610 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
10611 searches without having to use a browser.
10613 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
10614 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
10615 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
10616 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
10617 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
10619 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
10620 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
10621 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
10622 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
10623 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
10624 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
10625 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
10626 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
10627 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
10628 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
10631 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
10632 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
10633 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
10634 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
10635 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
10636 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
10638 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
10639 to use @code{nnweb}.
10641 Virtual server variables:
10646 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
10647 are @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
10650 @vindex nnweb-search
10651 The search string to feed to the search engine.
10653 @item nnweb-max-hits
10654 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
10655 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
10658 @item nnweb-type-definition
10659 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
10660 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
10661 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
10666 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
10670 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
10673 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
10676 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
10680 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
10687 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
10688 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
10689 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
10692 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
10693 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
10694 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
10696 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
10702 @item nngateway-address
10703 @vindex nngateway-address
10704 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
10706 @item nngateway-header-transformation
10707 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
10708 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
10709 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
10710 transformation should be called, and defaults to
10711 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
10712 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
10715 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
10716 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
10717 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
10720 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
10723 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
10726 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
10731 So, to use this, simply say something like:
10734 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
10738 @node Combined Groups
10739 @section Combined Groups
10741 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
10745 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
10746 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
10750 @node Virtual Groups
10751 @subsection Virtual Groups
10753 @cindex virtual groups
10755 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
10758 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
10759 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
10760 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
10762 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
10763 regexp to match component groups.
10765 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
10766 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
10767 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
10768 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
10769 the virtual group.)
10771 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
10772 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
10775 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
10778 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
10779 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
10781 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
10782 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
10783 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
10784 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
10787 "^nntp+some.server.jp:soc.motss$\\|^nntp+some.server.no:soc.motss$"
10790 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
10791 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
10792 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
10793 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
10794 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
10796 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
10797 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
10798 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
10800 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
10801 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
10802 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
10803 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
10804 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
10805 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
10806 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
10807 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
10808 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
10809 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
10810 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
10813 @node Kibozed Groups
10814 @subsection Kibozed Groups
10818 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
10819 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
10820 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
10821 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
10823 @kindex G k (Group)
10824 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
10827 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
10828 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
10829 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
10830 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
10832 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
10833 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
10834 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
10836 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
10837 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
10838 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
10839 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
10840 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
10841 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
10842 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
10843 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
10845 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
10846 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
10847 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
10848 Stranger things have happened.
10850 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
10851 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
10853 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
10854 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
10855 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
10856 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
10857 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
10858 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
10860 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
10861 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
10864 @node Gnus Unplugged
10865 @section Gnus Unplugged
10870 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
10872 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
10873 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
10874 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
10875 read news. Believe it or not.
10877 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
10878 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
10879 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
10880 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
10881 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
10883 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
10884 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
10885 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
10886 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
10887 reading news on a machine.
10889 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
10893 First, set ut Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
10894 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
10898 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
10899 @file{.gnus.el} file:
10906 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
10908 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
10911 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
10912 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
10913 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
10914 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
10915 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
10916 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
10921 @subsection Agent Basics
10923 First, let's get some terminilogy out of the way.
10925 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
10926 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
10927 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
10928 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
10930 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
10931 connected to the net continously.
10933 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
10934 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
10936 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
10941 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
10942 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
10943 already fetched while in this mode.
10946 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
10947 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
10948 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
10951 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
10952 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
10953 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
10954 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
10957 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
10958 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
10959 then you read the news offline.
10962 And then you go to step 2.
10965 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
10971 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
10972 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
10973 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
10974 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
10975 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
10976 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
10979 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}
10986 @node Agent Categories
10987 @subsection Agent Categories
10989 On of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
10990 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
10991 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
10992 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
10993 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
10994 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
10995 you're interested in the articles anyway.
10997 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
10998 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
10999 Gnus has its own buffer for creating and managing categories.
11002 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
11003 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
11004 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
11008 @node Category Syntax
11009 @subsubsection Category Syntax
11011 A category consists of two things.
11015 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
11016 are eligible for downloading; and
11019 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
11020 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
11021 score} is wholly unrelated to normal scores.)
11024 A predicate consists of predicates with logical operators sprinkled in
11027 Perhaps some examples are in order.
11029 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
11030 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
11036 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
11037 short (for some value of ``short'').
11039 Here's a more complex predicate:
11048 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
11049 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
11052 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
11053 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
11054 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
11056 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
11057 you want to do, you can write your own.
11061 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
11062 lines; default 100.
11065 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
11066 lines; default 200.
11069 True iff the article has a download score less than
11070 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
11073 True iff the article has a download score greater than
11074 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
11077 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
11078 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
11079 checksum and see whether articles match.
11088 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
11089 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
11090 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
11093 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
11094 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
11095 seeing the article itself is verboten. This means that only the
11096 following headers can be scored on: @code{From}, @code{Subject},
11097 @code{Date}, @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars}, @code{Message-ID},
11098 and @code{References}.
11101 @node The Category Buffer
11102 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
11104 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
11105 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
11106 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
11108 The following commands are available in this buffer:
11112 @kindex q (Category)
11113 @findex gnus-category-exit
11114 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
11117 @kindex k (Category)
11118 @findex gnus-category-kill
11119 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
11122 @kindex c (Category)
11123 @findex gnus-category-copy
11124 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
11127 @kindex a (Category)
11128 @findex gnus-category-add
11129 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
11132 @kindex p (Category)
11133 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
11134 Edit the predicate of the current category
11135 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
11138 @kindex g (Category)
11139 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
11140 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
11141 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
11144 @kindex s (Category)
11145 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
11146 Edit the download score rule of the current category
11147 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
11150 @kindex l (Category)
11151 @findex gnus-category-list
11152 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
11156 @node Category Variables
11157 @subsubsection Category Variables
11160 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
11161 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
11162 Hook run in category buffers.
11164 @item gnus-category-line-format
11165 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
11166 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
11167 Variables}). Legal elements are:
11171 The name of the category.
11174 The number of groups in the category.
11177 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
11178 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
11179 Format of the category mode line.
11181 @item gnus-agent-short-article
11182 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
11183 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
11185 @item gnus-agent-long-article
11186 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
11187 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
11189 @item gnus-agent-low-score
11190 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
11191 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
11194 @item gnus-agent-high-score
11195 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
11196 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
11202 @node Agent Commands
11203 @subsection Agent Commands
11205 All the Gnus Agent commands is on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
11206 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
11207 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
11211 * Group Agent Commands::
11212 * Summary Agent Commands::
11213 * Server Agent Commands::
11217 @node Group Agent Commands
11218 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
11222 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
11223 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
11224 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
11225 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
11228 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
11229 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
11230 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
11233 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
11234 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
11235 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
11236 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
11239 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
11240 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
11241 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
11242 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}). @xref{Drafts}
11245 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
11246 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
11247 Add the current group to an Agent category
11248 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}).
11253 @node Summary Agent Commands
11254 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
11258 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
11259 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
11260 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
11263 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
11264 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
11265 Remove the downloading mark from the article
11266 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
11269 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
11270 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
11271 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
11274 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
11275 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
11276 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
11281 @node Server Agent Commands
11282 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
11286 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
11287 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
11288 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
11289 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
11292 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
11293 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
11294 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
11295 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
11300 @node Outgoing Messages
11301 @subsection Outgoing Messages
11303 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
11304 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
11305 after posting, and edit them at will.
11307 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
11308 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
11309 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
11310 messages in the draft group.
11314 @node Agent Variables
11315 @subsection Agent Variables
11318 @item gnus-agent-directory
11319 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
11320 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
11321 @file{~/News/agent/}.
11323 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11324 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11325 Hook run when connecting to the network.
11327 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11328 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11329 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
11334 @node Example Setup
11335 @subsection Example Setup
11337 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
11338 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
11339 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
11342 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
11343 ;;; from your ISP's server.
11344 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "nntp.your-isp.com"))
11346 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
11347 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
11348 (setenv "MAILSERVER" "pop.your-isp.com")
11349 (setq nnmail-spool-file "po:username")
11351 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
11352 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11354 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
11358 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
11359 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
11362 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
11363 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
11364 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
11365 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
11366 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
11369 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
11370 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
11371 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
11372 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
11373 back all the killed groups.)
11375 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
11376 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
11377 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
11384 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
11385 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
11386 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
11389 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
11390 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
11391 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
11392 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
11393 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
11395 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
11396 before generating the summary buffer.
11398 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
11399 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
11400 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
11402 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
11403 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
11404 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
11405 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
11408 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
11409 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
11410 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
11411 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
11412 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
11413 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
11414 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
11415 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
11416 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
11417 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
11418 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
11419 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
11420 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
11421 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
11422 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
11423 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
11427 @node Summary Score Commands
11428 @section Summary Score Commands
11429 @cindex score commands
11431 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
11432 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
11433 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
11434 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
11435 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
11437 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
11438 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
11439 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
11440 score file the current one.
11442 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
11447 @kindex V s (Summary)
11448 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
11449 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
11452 @kindex V S (Summary)
11453 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
11454 Display the score of the current article
11455 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
11458 @kindex V t (Summary)
11459 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
11460 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
11461 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
11464 @kindex V R (Summary)
11465 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
11466 Run the current summary through the scoring process
11467 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
11468 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
11469 effect you're having.
11472 @kindex V a (Summary)
11473 @findex gnus-summary-score-entry
11474 Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
11475 (@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
11478 @kindex V c (Summary)
11479 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
11480 Make a different score file the current
11481 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
11484 @kindex V e (Summary)
11485 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
11486 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
11487 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
11491 @kindex V f (Summary)
11492 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
11493 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
11494 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
11497 @kindex V F (Summary)
11498 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
11499 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
11500 after editing score files.
11503 @kindex V C (Summary)
11504 @findex gnus-score-customize
11505 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
11506 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
11510 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
11515 @kindex V m (Summary)
11516 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
11517 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
11518 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
11521 @kindex V x (Summary)
11522 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
11523 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
11524 expunge all articles below this score
11525 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
11528 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
11529 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
11534 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
11535 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
11537 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
11538 keys are available:
11542 Score on the author name.
11545 Score on the subject line.
11548 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
11551 Score on thread---the References line.
11557 Score on the number of lines.
11560 Score on the Message-ID.
11563 Score on followups.
11573 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
11574 what headers you are scoring on.
11586 Substring matching.
11589 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
11618 Greater than number.
11623 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
11624 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
11625 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
11629 Temporary score entry.
11632 Permanent score entry.
11635 Immediately scoring.
11640 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
11641 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
11642 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
11643 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
11645 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
11646 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
11647 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
11648 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
11649 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
11651 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
11652 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
11653 pretend they are keymaps or not.
11656 @node Group Score Commands
11657 @section Group Score Commands
11658 @cindex group score commands
11660 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
11665 @kindex W f (Group)
11666 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
11667 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
11668 all the time. This command will flush the cache
11669 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
11674 @node Score Variables
11675 @section Score Variables
11676 @cindex score variables
11680 @item gnus-use-scoring
11681 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
11682 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
11683 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
11685 @item gnus-kill-killed
11686 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
11687 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
11688 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
11689 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
11690 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
11691 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
11692 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
11694 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
11695 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
11696 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
11697 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
11698 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
11700 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
11701 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
11702 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
11703 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
11705 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
11706 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
11707 @cindex score cache
11708 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
11709 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
11710 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
11711 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
11712 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
11713 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
11716 @item gnus-save-score
11717 @vindex gnus-save-score
11718 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
11719 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
11720 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
11722 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
11723 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
11724 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
11725 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
11726 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
11727 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
11728 manually entered data.
11730 @item gnus-summary-default-score
11731 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
11732 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
11734 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
11735 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
11736 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
11737 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
11738 articles will be hidden.
11740 @item gnus-score-over-mark
11741 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
11742 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
11743 default. Default is @samp{+}.
11745 @item gnus-score-below-mark
11746 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
11747 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
11748 default. Default is @samp{-}.
11750 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
11751 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
11752 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
11753 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
11755 Predefined functions available are:
11758 @item gnus-score-find-single
11759 @findex gnus-score-find-single
11760 Only apply the group's own score file.
11762 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
11763 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
11764 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
11765 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
11766 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
11767 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
11768 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
11769 then a regexp match is done.
11771 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
11772 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
11774 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
11775 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
11776 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
11777 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
11779 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
11780 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
11781 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
11782 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
11783 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
11786 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
11787 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
11788 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
11789 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
11790 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
11791 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
11794 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
11795 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
11796 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
11797 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
11798 are expired. It's 7 by default.
11800 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
11801 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
11802 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
11803 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
11804 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
11805 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
11806 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
11809 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
11810 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
11811 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
11816 @node Score File Format
11817 @section Score File Format
11818 @cindex score file format
11820 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
11821 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
11822 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
11824 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
11828 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
11830 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
11832 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
11834 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
11839 (mark-and-expunge -10)
11843 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
11844 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
11845 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
11846 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
11850 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
11851 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
11853 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
11854 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
11855 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
11857 Six keys are supported by this alist:
11862 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
11863 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
11864 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
11865 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
11866 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
11867 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
11868 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
11869 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
11870 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
11871 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
11872 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
11873 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
11874 to articles that matches these score entries.
11876 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
11877 score entry has one to four elements.
11881 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
11882 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
11886 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
11887 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
11888 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
11889 is successful. If this element is not present, the
11890 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
11891 instead. This is 1000 by default.
11894 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
11895 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
11896 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
11897 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
11898 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
11901 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
11902 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
11903 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
11904 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
11907 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
11908 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
11909 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
11910 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
11911 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
11912 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
11913 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
11914 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
11915 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
11916 instead, if you feel like.
11919 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
11920 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}. When matching on @code{Lines}, be
11921 careful because some backends (like @code{nndir}) do not generate
11922 @code{Lines} header, so every article ends up being marked as having 0
11923 lines. This can lead to strange results if you happen to lower score of
11924 the articles with few lines.
11927 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
11928 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
11929 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
11930 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
11931 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
11932 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
11933 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
11937 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
11938 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
11939 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
11940 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
11941 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
11942 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
11943 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
11944 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
11947 @item Head, Body, All
11948 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
11952 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
11953 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
11954 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
11955 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
11956 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
11957 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
11958 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
11962 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
11963 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
11964 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
11965 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
11966 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
11967 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
11968 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
11969 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
11970 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
11971 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
11975 @cindex Score File Atoms
11977 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
11978 lower than this number will be marked as read.
11981 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
11982 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
11984 @item mark-and-expunge
11985 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
11986 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
11989 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
11990 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
11991 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
11992 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
11993 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
11996 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
11997 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
12000 @item exclude-files
12001 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
12002 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
12006 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
12007 ignored when handling global score files.
12010 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
12011 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
12014 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
12015 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
12016 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
12017 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
12019 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
12023 (mark-and-expunge -100)
12026 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
12027 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
12028 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
12029 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
12030 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
12032 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
12033 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
12034 ordinary scoring rules.
12037 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
12038 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
12039 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
12040 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
12041 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
12042 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
12043 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12044 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
12045 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
12046 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
12047 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
12051 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
12052 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
12053 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
12054 file for a number of groups.
12057 @cindex local variables
12058 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
12059 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
12060 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
12061 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
12062 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
12066 @node Score File Editing
12067 @section Score File Editing
12069 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
12070 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
12071 with a mode for that.
12073 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
12074 additional commands:
12079 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
12080 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
12081 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
12082 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
12085 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
12086 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
12087 Insert the current date in numerical format
12088 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
12089 you were wondering.
12092 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
12093 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
12094 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
12095 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
12096 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
12101 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
12103 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
12104 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
12106 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
12107 e} to begin editing score files.
12110 @node Adaptive Scoring
12111 @section Adaptive Scoring
12112 @cindex adaptive scoring
12114 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
12115 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
12116 stupidity, to be precise.
12118 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
12119 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
12120 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
12121 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
12122 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12123 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
12124 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
12125 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
12126 variable to @code{(word line)}.
12128 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12129 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
12130 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
12131 might look something like this:
12134 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12135 '((gnus-unread-mark)
12136 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
12137 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
12138 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
12139 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
12140 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
12141 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
12142 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
12143 (gnus-ancient-mark)
12144 (gnus-low-score-mark)
12145 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
12148 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
12149 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
12150 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
12151 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
12152 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
12153 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
12156 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
12157 will be applied to each article.
12159 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
12160 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
12161 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
12162 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
12164 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
12165 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
12166 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
12167 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
12169 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
12170 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
12171 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
12172 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
12174 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
12175 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
12176 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
12177 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
12178 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
12179 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
12181 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
12182 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
12183 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
12184 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
12185 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
12186 aspirins afterwards.)
12188 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
12189 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
12190 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
12192 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
12193 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
12194 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
12196 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
12197 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
12198 let you use different rules in different groups.
12200 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
12201 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
12202 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
12205 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
12206 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
12207 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
12208 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
12209 the length of the match is less than
12210 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
12211 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
12214 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12215 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
12216 headers. If you adapt on words, the
12217 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
12218 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
12221 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12222 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
12223 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
12224 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
12225 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
12228 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
12229 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
12230 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
12231 score with 30 points.
12233 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
12234 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
12235 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
12236 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
12237 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
12239 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
12240 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
12241 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
12242 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
12244 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
12245 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
12246 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
12248 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
12249 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
12250 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
12251 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
12254 @node Home Score File
12255 @section Home Score File
12257 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
12258 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
12259 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
12260 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
12262 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
12263 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
12264 could perhaps use the same home score file.
12266 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
12267 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
12272 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
12276 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
12277 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
12281 A list. The elements in this list can be:
12285 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
12286 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
12289 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
12290 the home score file.
12293 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
12296 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
12301 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
12304 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12305 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
12308 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
12309 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
12312 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12313 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
12316 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
12318 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
12319 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
12320 their own home score files:
12323 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12324 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
12325 '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
12326 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
12327 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
12330 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
12331 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
12332 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
12333 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
12334 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
12336 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
12337 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
12338 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
12339 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
12340 precedence over this variable.
12343 @node Followups To Yourself
12344 @section Followups To Yourself
12346 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
12347 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
12348 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
12349 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
12350 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
12351 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
12355 @item gnus-score-followup-article
12356 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
12357 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
12360 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
12361 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
12362 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
12366 @vindex message-sent-hook
12367 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
12368 @code{message-sent-hook}.
12370 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
12371 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
12375 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12376 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12379 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
12380 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
12385 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
12389 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
12390 is system-dependent.
12394 @section Scoring Tips
12395 @cindex scoring tips
12401 @cindex scoring crossposts
12402 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
12403 the @code{Xref} header.
12405 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
12408 @item Multiple crossposts
12409 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
12410 more than, say, 3 groups:
12412 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
12415 @item Matching on the body
12416 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
12417 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
12418 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
12419 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
12420 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
12421 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
12422 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
12425 @item Marking as read
12426 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
12427 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
12428 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
12432 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
12434 @item Negated character classes
12435 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
12436 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
12437 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
12441 @node Reverse Scoring
12442 @section Reverse Scoring
12443 @cindex reverse scoring
12445 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
12446 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
12447 like this in your score file:
12451 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
12456 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
12457 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
12460 @node Global Score Files
12461 @section Global Score Files
12462 @cindex global score files
12464 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
12465 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
12466 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
12468 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
12469 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
12470 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
12472 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
12473 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
12474 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
12475 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
12476 files are applicable to which group.
12478 Say you want to use the score file
12479 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
12480 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
12483 (setq gnus-global-score-files
12484 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
12485 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
12488 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
12489 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
12490 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
12491 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
12492 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
12494 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
12495 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
12497 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
12498 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
12499 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
12500 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
12501 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
12502 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
12504 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
12510 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
12512 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
12514 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
12516 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
12517 lowered out of existence.
12519 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
12520 articles completely.
12523 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
12524 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
12525 old articles for a long time.
12528 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
12529 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
12530 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
12531 holding our breath yet?
12535 @section Kill Files
12538 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
12539 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
12540 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
12542 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
12543 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
12544 files into score files.
12546 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
12547 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
12548 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
12549 that isn't a very good idea.
12551 Normal kill files look like this:
12554 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12555 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
12559 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
12560 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
12562 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
12563 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
12566 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
12571 @kindex M-k (Summary)
12572 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
12573 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
12576 @kindex M-K (Summary)
12577 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
12578 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
12581 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
12586 @kindex M-k (Group)
12587 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
12588 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
12591 @kindex M-K (Group)
12592 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
12593 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
12596 Kill file variables:
12599 @item gnus-kill-file-name
12600 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
12601 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
12602 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
12603 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
12604 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
12605 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
12607 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
12608 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
12609 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
12610 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
12613 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
12614 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
12615 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
12616 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
12617 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
12618 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
12619 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
12620 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
12621 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
12623 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
12624 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
12625 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
12630 @node Converting Kill Files
12631 @section Converting Kill Files
12633 @cindex converting kill files
12635 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
12636 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
12637 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
12640 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
12641 You can fetch it from
12642 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
12644 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
12645 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
12646 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
12654 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
12655 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
12656 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
12658 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
12659 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
12660 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
12661 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
12662 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
12663 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
12664 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
12665 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
12669 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
12670 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
12671 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
12672 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
12676 @node Using GroupLens
12677 @subsection Using GroupLens
12679 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
12681 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
12682 better bit in town at the moment.
12684 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
12688 @item gnus-use-grouplens
12689 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
12690 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
12691 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
12693 @item grouplens-pseudonym
12694 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
12695 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
12696 with the Better Bit Bureau.
12698 @item grouplens-newsgroups
12699 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
12700 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
12704 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
12705 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
12706 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
12707 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
12708 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
12709 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
12712 @node Rating Articles
12713 @subsection Rating Articles
12715 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
12716 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
12717 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
12718 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
12721 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
12726 @kindex r (GroupLens)
12727 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
12728 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
12731 @kindex k (GroupLens)
12732 @findex grouplens-score-thread
12733 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
12734 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
12735 threads in rec.humor.
12739 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
12740 the score of the article you're reading.
12745 @kindex n (GroupLens)
12746 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
12747 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
12750 @kindex , (GroupLens)
12751 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
12752 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
12756 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
12757 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
12760 @node Displaying Predictions
12761 @subsection Displaying Predictions
12763 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
12764 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
12765 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
12766 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
12767 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
12769 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
12770 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
12771 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
12772 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
12773 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
12774 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
12775 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
12776 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
12777 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
12778 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
12779 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
12780 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
12781 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
12783 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
12784 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
12785 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
12786 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
12788 The following are valid values for that variable.
12791 @item prediction-spot
12792 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
12795 @item confidence-interval
12796 A numeric confidence interval.
12798 @item prediction-bar
12799 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
12801 @item confidence-bar
12802 Numerical confidence.
12804 @item confidence-spot
12805 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
12807 @item prediction-num
12808 Plain-old numeric value.
12810 @item confidence-plus-minus
12811 Prediction +/- confidence.
12816 @node GroupLens Variables
12817 @subsection GroupLens Variables
12821 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
12822 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
12823 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
12824 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
12827 @item grouplens-bbb-host
12828 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
12831 @item grouplens-bbb-port
12832 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
12834 @item grouplens-score-offset
12835 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
12836 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
12839 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
12840 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
12841 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
12846 @node Advanced Scoring
12847 @section Advanced Scoring
12849 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
12850 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
12851 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
12852 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
12853 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
12855 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
12859 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
12860 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
12861 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
12865 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
12866 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
12868 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
12869 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
12870 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
12871 non-@code{nil} value.
12873 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
12874 operator, and various match operators.
12881 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
12882 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
12883 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
12888 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
12889 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
12890 then this operator will return @code{false}.
12895 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
12896 logical negation of the value of its argument.
12900 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
12901 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
12902 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
12903 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
12904 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
12905 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
12906 the ancestry you want to go.
12908 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
12909 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
12910 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
12911 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
12912 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
12915 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
12916 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
12918 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
12919 when he's talking about Gnus:
12923 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12924 ("subject" "Gnus"))
12930 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
12934 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12941 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
12942 really don't want to read what he's written:
12946 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12947 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
12951 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
12952 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
12953 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
12960 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
12961 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
12962 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
12963 ("body" "white.*socks"))
12967 The possibilities are endless.
12970 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
12971 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
12973 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
12974 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
12975 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
12976 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
12977 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
12978 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
12979 @samp{subject}) first.
12981 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
12982 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
12993 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
12994 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
13000 ("subject" "Gnus")))
13007 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
13008 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
13013 @section Score Decays
13014 @cindex score decays
13017 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
13018 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
13019 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
13020 use them in any sensible way.
13022 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
13023 @findex gnus-decay-score
13024 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
13025 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
13026 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
13027 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
13028 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
13029 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
13030 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
13031 definition of that function:
13034 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
13035 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant' and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
13038 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
13040 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
13042 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
13045 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
13046 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
13047 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
13048 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
13052 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
13055 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
13058 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
13062 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
13063 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
13064 the new score, which should be an integer.
13066 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
13067 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
13074 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
13075 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
13076 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
13077 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
13078 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
13079 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
13080 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
13081 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
13082 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
13083 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
13084 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
13085 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
13086 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
13087 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
13088 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolited commercial email.
13089 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
13093 @node Process/Prefix
13094 @section Process/Prefix
13095 @cindex process/prefix convention
13097 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
13098 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
13100 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
13101 command to be performed on.
13105 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
13106 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
13107 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
13108 with the current one.
13110 @vindex transient-mark-mode
13111 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
13112 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
13114 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
13115 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
13118 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
13119 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
13121 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
13124 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
13125 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
13126 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
13127 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13129 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
13130 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
13131 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
13132 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
13133 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
13134 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
13135 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
13136 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
13140 @section Interactive
13141 @cindex interaction
13145 @item gnus-novice-user
13146 @vindex gnus-novice-user
13147 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
13148 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
13149 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
13150 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
13153 @item gnus-expert-user
13154 @vindex gnus-expert-user
13155 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
13156 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
13157 matter how strange.
13159 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
13160 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
13161 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
13162 is @code{t} by default.
13164 @item gnus-interactive-exit
13165 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
13166 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
13171 @node Formatting Variables
13172 @section Formatting Variables
13173 @cindex formatting variables
13175 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
13176 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
13177 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
13178 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
13181 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
13182 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
13183 lots of percentages everywhere.
13186 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
13187 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
13188 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
13189 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
13192 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
13193 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
13194 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
13195 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
13196 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
13197 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
13198 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
13199 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
13201 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
13202 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
13204 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
13205 @findex gnus-update-format
13206 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
13207 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
13208 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
13209 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
13213 @node Formatting Basics
13214 @subsection Formatting Basics
13216 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
13217 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
13218 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
13220 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
13221 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
13222 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
13223 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
13224 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
13227 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
13228 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
13229 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
13230 less than 4 characters wide.
13233 @node Advanced Formatting
13234 @subsection Advanced Formatting
13236 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
13237 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
13238 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
13239 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
13241 These are the valid modifiers:
13246 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
13250 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
13255 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
13258 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
13263 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
13266 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
13269 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
13272 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
13276 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
13277 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
13278 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
13279 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
13280 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
13281 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
13282 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
13284 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
13285 last operation, padding.
13287 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
13288 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
13289 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
13290 @xref{Compilation}.
13293 @node User-Defined Specs
13294 @subsection User-Defined Specs
13296 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
13297 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
13298 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
13299 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
13300 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
13301 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
13302 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
13303 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
13304 should protect against that.
13306 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
13307 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
13308 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
13309 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
13313 @node Formatting Fonts
13314 @subsection Formatting Fonts
13316 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
13317 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
13318 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
13319 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
13322 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
13323 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
13324 default. If you say @samp{%1[}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
13325 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
13326 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
13327 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
13329 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
13332 ;; Create three face types.
13333 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
13334 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
13336 ;; We want the article count to be in
13337 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
13338 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
13339 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
13341 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
13342 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
13344 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
13345 (setq gnus-group-line-format
13346 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
13349 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
13350 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
13352 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
13353 mode-line variables.
13356 @node Windows Configuration
13357 @section Windows Configuration
13358 @cindex windows configuration
13360 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
13362 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
13363 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
13364 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
13365 @code{t} by default.
13367 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
13368 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
13369 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
13372 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
13373 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
13374 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13378 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
13379 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
13380 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
13381 possible names is listed below.
13383 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
13384 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
13387 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13391 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
13392 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
13393 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
13394 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
13395 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
13396 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
13397 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
13398 size spec per split.
13400 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
13403 Here's a more complicated example:
13406 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
13407 (summary 0.25 point)
13408 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
13412 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
13413 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
13414 occupy, not a percentage.
13416 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
13417 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
13418 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
13419 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
13420 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
13423 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
13426 (article (horizontal 1.0
13431 (summary 0.25 point)
13436 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
13437 @code{horizontal} thingie?
13439 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
13440 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
13441 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
13442 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
13443 the screen is to be given to this strip.
13445 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
13446 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
13447 lines from the splits.
13449 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
13453 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
13454 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
13455 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
13456 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
13457 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
13458 size = number | frame-params
13459 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
13462 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
13463 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
13464 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
13465 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
13467 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
13468 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
13469 @cindex window height
13470 @cindex window width
13471 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
13472 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
13473 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
13474 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
13475 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
13476 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
13478 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
13479 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
13480 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
13481 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
13483 @findex gnus-configure-frame
13484 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
13485 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
13486 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
13487 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
13488 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
13489 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
13490 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
13491 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
13492 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
13493 configuration list.
13496 (gnus-configure-frame
13500 (article 0.3 point))
13508 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
13509 @code{frame} split:
13512 (gnus-configure-frame
13515 (summary 0.25 point)
13517 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
13518 (user-position . t)
13519 (left . -1) (top . 1))
13524 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
13525 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
13526 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
13527 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
13528 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
13529 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
13530 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
13531 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
13534 Here's a list of all possible keys for
13535 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
13537 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
13538 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
13539 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
13540 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
13541 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
13542 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}, and @code{score-trace}.
13544 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
13545 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
13546 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
13550 (message (horizontal 1.0
13551 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
13553 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
13558 @findex gnus-add-configuration
13559 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
13560 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
13561 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
13562 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
13565 (gnus-add-configuration
13566 '(article (vertical 1.0
13568 (summary .25 point)
13572 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
13573 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
13574 Gnus has been loaded.
13576 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
13577 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
13578 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
13579 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
13580 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
13584 @section Compilation
13585 @cindex compilation
13586 @cindex byte-compilation
13588 @findex gnus-compile
13590 Remember all those line format specification variables?
13591 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
13592 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
13593 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
13594 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
13595 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
13598 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
13599 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
13600 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
13601 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
13602 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
13603 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
13604 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
13608 @section Mode Lines
13611 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
13612 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
13613 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
13614 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
13615 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
13616 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
13617 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
13620 @cindex display-time
13622 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
13623 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
13624 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
13625 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
13626 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
13627 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
13628 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
13629 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
13632 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
13634 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
13635 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
13637 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
13638 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
13639 (length display-time-string)))))
13642 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
13643 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
13644 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
13645 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
13646 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
13649 @node Highlighting and Menus
13650 @section Highlighting and Menus
13652 @cindex highlighting
13655 @vindex gnus-visual
13656 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
13657 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
13658 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
13661 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
13662 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
13665 @item group-highlight
13666 Do highlights in the group buffer.
13667 @item summary-highlight
13668 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
13669 @item article-highlight
13670 Do highlights in the article buffer.
13672 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
13674 Create menus in the group buffer.
13676 Create menus in the summary buffers.
13678 Create menus in the article buffer.
13680 Create menus in the browse buffer.
13682 Create menus in the server buffer.
13684 Create menus in the score buffers.
13686 Create menus in all buffers.
13689 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
13690 buffers, you could say something like:
13693 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
13696 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
13699 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
13702 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
13703 in all Gnus buffers.
13705 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
13708 @item gnus-mouse-face
13709 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
13710 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
13711 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
13715 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
13719 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
13720 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
13721 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
13723 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
13724 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
13725 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
13727 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
13728 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
13729 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
13731 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
13732 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
13733 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
13735 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
13736 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
13737 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
13739 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
13740 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
13741 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
13752 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
13753 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
13754 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
13755 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
13756 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
13760 @vindex gnus-carpal
13761 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
13762 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
13763 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
13768 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
13769 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
13770 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
13772 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
13773 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
13774 Face used on buttons.
13776 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
13777 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
13778 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
13780 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
13781 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
13782 Buttons in the group buffer.
13784 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
13785 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
13786 Buttons in the summary buffer.
13788 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
13789 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
13790 Buttons in the server buffer.
13792 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
13793 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
13794 Buttons in the browse buffer.
13797 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
13798 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
13799 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
13807 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
13808 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
13809 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
13810 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
13811 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
13813 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
13814 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
13815 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
13817 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
13818 been idle for thirty minutes:
13821 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
13824 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
13828 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
13831 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
13832 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
13833 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
13835 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
13836 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
13837 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
13838 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
13840 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
13841 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
13842 @var{idle} minutes.
13844 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
13845 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
13848 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
13849 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
13850 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
13852 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
13853 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
13854 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
13855 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
13857 @vindex gnus-use-demon
13858 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
13859 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
13861 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
13862 your @file{.gnus} file:
13864 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
13866 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
13869 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
13870 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
13871 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
13872 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
13873 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
13874 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
13875 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
13876 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
13877 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
13878 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
13880 @findex gnus-demon-init
13881 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
13882 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
13883 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
13884 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
13885 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
13887 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
13888 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
13889 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
13898 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
13899 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
13901 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
13902 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
13903 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
13904 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
13907 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
13908 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
13909 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
13910 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
13912 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
13913 this will make spam disappear.
13915 There are some variables to customize, of course:
13918 @item gnus-use-nocem
13919 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
13920 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
13923 @item gnus-nocem-groups
13924 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
13925 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
13926 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
13927 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
13929 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
13930 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
13931 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
13932 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
13933 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;" "jem@@xpat.com;" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
13934 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
13936 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
13939 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
13940 @cindex Chris Lewis
13941 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
13942 usenet abuse than anybody else.
13945 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
13946 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
13947 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
13949 @item jem@@xpat.com;
13951 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
13954 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
13955 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
13956 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
13959 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
13960 ones you want to listen to.
13962 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
13963 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
13965 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
13966 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
13967 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
13968 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
13970 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
13971 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
13974 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
13976 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
13984 This might be dangerous, though.
13986 @item gnus-nocem-directory
13987 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
13988 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
13989 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
13991 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
13992 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
13993 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
13994 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
13995 might then see old spam.
13999 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
14000 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
14001 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
14002 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
14009 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
14010 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
14011 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
14013 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
14014 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
14015 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
14016 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
14017 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
14018 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
14019 @code{undo} function.
14021 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
14022 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
14023 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
14024 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
14025 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
14026 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
14027 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
14028 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
14029 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
14030 never be totally undoable.
14032 @findex gnus-undo-mode
14033 @vindex gnus-use-undo
14035 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
14036 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
14037 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
14038 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
14043 @section Moderation
14046 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
14047 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
14048 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
14051 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
14055 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
14058 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
14060 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
14065 You split your incoming mail by matching on
14066 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
14067 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
14070 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
14071 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
14074 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
14075 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
14079 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
14082 (setq gnus-moderated-list
14083 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
14087 @node XEmacs Enhancements
14088 @section XEmacs Enhancements
14091 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
14095 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
14096 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
14097 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
14098 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
14107 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-att.ps}
14108 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-berkeley.ps}
14109 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-caltech.ps}
14110 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-canada.ps}
14111 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-cr.ps}
14112 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-cygnus.ps}
14113 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-gov.ps}
14114 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-mit.ps}
14115 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-nasa.ps}
14116 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-qmw.ps}
14117 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-rms.ps}
14118 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-ruu.ps}
14122 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
14123 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
14124 over your shoulder as you read news.
14127 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
14128 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
14129 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
14130 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
14131 * Picon Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
14136 @subsubsection Picon Basics
14138 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
14141 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
14142 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
14143 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
14144 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
14145 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
14146 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
14147 @code{GIF} formats.
14150 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases, point
14151 your Web browser at
14152 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
14154 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14155 Gnus expects picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
14156 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
14159 @node Picon Requirements
14160 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
14162 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
14163 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
14166 Additionally, you must have @code{xpm} support compiled into XEmacs.
14168 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14169 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you must have
14170 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
14171 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
14175 @subsubsection Easy Picons
14177 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
14178 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
14181 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
14182 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14183 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-prepare-hook 'gnus-group-display-picons t)
14184 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
14189 @subsubsection Hard Picons
14191 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
14192 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
14193 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
14194 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
14195 feature, you need to first decide where to display them.
14199 @item gnus-picons-display-where
14200 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14201 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
14202 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
14203 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
14204 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
14205 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
14206 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
14212 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-seuu.ps}
14213 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-stanford.ps}
14214 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-sun.ps}
14215 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-ubc.ps}
14216 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-ufl.ps}
14217 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-uio.ps}
14218 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-unit.ps}
14219 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-upenn.ps}
14220 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-wesleyan.ps}
14224 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
14225 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
14227 Now that you've made that decision, you need to add the following
14228 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get
14229 displayed at the right time.
14231 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
14232 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14234 @item gnus-article-display-picons
14235 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14236 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
14237 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to the
14238 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14240 @item gnus-group-display-picons
14241 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14242 Displays picons representing the current group. This function should
14243 be added to the @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook} or to the
14244 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} if @code{gnus-picons-display-where}
14245 is set to @code{article}.
14247 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
14248 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14249 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
14250 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14254 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
14255 for the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
14258 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14262 @node Picon Configuration
14263 @subsubsection Picon Configuration
14265 The following variables offer further control over how things are
14266 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
14267 don't need to worry about.
14270 @item gnus-picons-database
14271 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14272 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
14273 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
14274 subdirectories. Defaults to @file{/usr/local/faces}.
14276 @item gnus-picons-news-directory
14277 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directory
14278 Sub-directory of the faces database containing the icons for
14281 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
14282 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
14283 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
14284 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
14286 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
14287 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
14288 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
14289 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
14290 want to add @samp{unknown} to this list.
14292 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14293 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14294 The command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
14295 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
14296 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
14297 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
14299 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14300 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14301 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
14302 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
14304 @item gnus-picons-buffer
14305 @vindex gnus-picons-buffer
14306 The name of the buffer that @code{picons} points to. Defaults to
14307 @samp{*Icon Buffer*}.
14312 @subsection Smileys
14315 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
14316 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
14318 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
14319 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14322 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-smiley-display t)
14325 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
14326 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
14327 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
14328 text and maps that to file names.
14330 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
14331 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
14332 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
14333 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
14334 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
14335 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
14337 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
14338 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
14340 Here's the default value of @code{smiley-smiley-regexp-alist}:
14343 (setq smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
14344 '(("\\(:-+[<«]+\\)\\W" 1 "FaceAngry.xpm")
14345 ("\\(:-+\\]+\\)\\W" 1 "FaceGoofy.xpm")
14346 ("\\(:-+D\\)\\W" 1 "FaceGrinning.xpm")
14347 ("\\(:-+[@}»]+\\)\\W" 1 "FaceHappy.xpm")
14348 ("\\(:-*)+\\)\\W" 1 "FaceHappy.xpm")
14349 ("\\(:-+[/\\\"]+\\)\\W" 1 "FaceIronic.xpm")
14350 ("\\([8|]-+[|Oo%]\\)\\W" 1 "FaceKOed.xpm")
14351 ("\\([:|]-+#+\\)\\W" 1 "FaceNyah.xpm")
14352 ("\\(:-+[(@{]+\\)\\W" 1 "FaceSad.xpm")
14353 ("\\(:-+[Oo\*]\\)\\W" 1 "FaceStartled.xpm")
14354 ("\\(:-+|\\)\\W" 1 "FaceStraight.xpm")
14355 ("\\(:-+p\\)\\W" 1 "FaceTalking.xpm")
14356 ("\\(:-+d\\)\\W" 1 "FaceTasty.xpm")
14357 ("\\(;-+[>)@}»]+\\)\\W" 1 "FaceWinking.xpm")
14358 ("\\(:-+[Vvµ]\\)\\W" 1 "FaceWry.xpm")
14359 ("\\(][:8B]-[)>]\\)\\W" 1 "FaceDevilish.xpm")
14360 ("\\([:|]-+P\\)\\W" 1 "FaceYukky.xpm")))
14363 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
14364 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
14365 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
14367 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
14368 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
14372 @item smiley-data-directory
14373 @vindex smiley-data-directory
14374 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
14376 @item smiley-flesh-color
14377 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
14378 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
14380 @item smiley-features-color
14381 @vindex smiley-features-color
14382 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
14384 @item smiley-tongue-color
14385 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
14386 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
14388 @item smiley-circle-color
14389 @vindex smiley-circle-color
14390 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
14392 @item smiley-mouse-face
14393 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
14394 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
14400 @subsection Toolbar
14404 @item gnus-use-toolbar
14405 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
14406 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
14407 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
14408 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
14410 @item gnus-group-toolbar
14411 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
14412 The toolbar in the group buffer.
14414 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
14415 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
14416 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
14418 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
14419 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
14420 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
14426 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
14429 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
14430 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
14431 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
14432 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
14433 unusual directory structure.
14435 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
14436 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
14437 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
14438 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
14440 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
14441 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
14442 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
14443 Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
14444 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
14445 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
14447 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
14448 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
14449 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
14457 @node Fuzzy Matching
14458 @section Fuzzy Matching
14459 @cindex fuzzy matching
14461 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
14462 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
14464 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
14465 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
14466 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
14468 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
14469 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
14470 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
14471 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
14472 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
14475 @node Thwarting Email Spam
14476 @section Thwarting Email Spam
14480 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
14482 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
14483 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
14484 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
14485 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
14486 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
14487 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
14488 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
14489 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
14492 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
14493 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
14494 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
14495 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
14496 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrouos hair on your toes!'')
14497 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
14501 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
14502 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
14504 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
14505 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
14506 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
14507 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
14508 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
14509 part of the mail address.)
14512 (setq message-default-news-headers
14513 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
14516 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14517 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
14522 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
14523 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
14524 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
14530 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
14531 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
14532 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
14533 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
14535 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
14536 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
14537 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
14538 twarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
14539 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
14540 your fancy split rule in this way:
14545 (to "larsi" "misc")
14549 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
14550 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
14551 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
14552 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
14553 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
14555 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
14556 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, availiable FOR FREE
14557 at @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
14558 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
14559 cosmic balance somewhat.
14561 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
14562 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
14563 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
14564 to non-existant domains is yucky, in my opinion.
14567 @node Various Various
14568 @section Various Various
14574 @item gnus-home-directory
14575 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
14576 defaults to @file{~/}.
14578 @item gnus-directory
14579 @vindex gnus-directory
14580 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
14581 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
14582 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
14584 @item gnus-default-directory
14585 @vindex gnus-default-directory
14586 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
14587 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
14588 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
14589 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
14590 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
14591 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
14594 @vindex gnus-verbose
14595 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
14596 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
14597 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
14598 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
14599 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
14601 @item gnus-verbose-backends
14602 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
14603 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
14604 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
14606 @item nnheader-max-head-length
14607 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
14608 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
14609 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
14610 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
14611 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
14612 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
14613 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
14614 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
14615 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
14617 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
14618 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
14619 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
14620 read when doing the operation described above.
14622 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
14623 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
14625 @cindex invalid characters in file names
14626 @cindex characters in file names
14627 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
14628 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
14629 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
14632 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
14636 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
14637 Windows (phooey) systems.
14639 @item gnus-hidden-properties
14640 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
14641 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
14642 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
14643 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
14645 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
14646 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
14647 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
14648 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
14649 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
14651 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
14652 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
14653 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
14662 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
14663 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
14665 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
14667 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
14673 Not because of victories @*
14676 but for the common sunshine,@*
14678 the largess of the spring.
14682 but for the day's work done@*
14683 as well as I was able;@*
14684 not for a seat upon the dais@*
14685 but at the common table.@*
14690 @chapter Appendices
14693 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
14694 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
14695 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
14696 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
14697 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
14698 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
14699 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
14707 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
14708 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
14710 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
14711 can point your (feh!) web browser to
14712 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
14713 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
14714 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
14716 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
14717 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
14718 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
14719 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
14720 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
14721 appropriate name, don't you think?)
14723 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
14724 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
14725 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
14726 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
14728 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
14729 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
14730 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
14732 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
14733 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
14735 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
14736 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4''.
14738 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
14739 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
14740 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
14741 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
14742 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
14746 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
14747 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
14748 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
14749 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
14750 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
14751 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
14752 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
14759 What's the point of Gnus?
14761 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
14762 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
14763 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
14764 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
14765 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
14766 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
14767 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
14768 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
14769 keep track of millions of people who post?
14771 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
14772 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
14773 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
14774 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
14775 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
14776 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
14777 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
14778 every one of you to explore and invent.
14780 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
14781 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
14784 @node Compatibility
14785 @subsection Compatibility
14787 @cindex compatibility
14788 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
14789 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
14790 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
14795 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
14799 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
14802 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
14805 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
14806 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
14807 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
14808 important variables have their values copied into their global
14809 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
14810 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
14812 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
14813 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
14814 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
14815 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
14816 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
14820 @cindex highlighting
14821 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
14822 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
14823 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
14824 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
14825 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
14826 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
14829 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
14830 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
14831 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
14832 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
14834 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
14835 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
14836 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
14837 to stop doing it the old way.
14839 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
14841 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
14843 @cindex reporting bugs
14845 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
14846 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
14847 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
14851 @subsection Conformity
14853 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
14854 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
14861 There are no known breaches of this standard.
14865 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
14867 @item Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
14868 @cindex Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
14869 Gnus has been through the Seal process and failed. I think it'll pass
14870 the next inspection.
14872 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
14873 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
14874 We do have some breaches to this one.
14879 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
14880 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
14883 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
14884 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
14885 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
14886 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
14887 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
14892 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
14893 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
14898 @subsection Emacsen
14904 Gnus should work on :
14909 Emacs 19.32 and up.
14912 XEmacs 19.14 and up.
14915 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.32 and up.
14919 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
14920 reliably, at least.
14922 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
14923 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
14924 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
14929 @subsection Contributors
14930 @cindex contributors
14932 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
14933 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
14934 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
14935 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
14936 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
14937 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
14938 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
14939 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
14940 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
14941 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
14943 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
14949 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
14952 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
14953 well as numerous other things).
14956 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
14959 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
14962 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
14963 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
14966 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
14969 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
14970 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
14973 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
14976 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
14979 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
14982 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
14985 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinsky---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
14986 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
14989 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
14992 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
14995 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
14998 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
15002 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
15005 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
15008 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
15011 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports.
15015 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
15016 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
15018 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
15027 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
15031 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
15046 Massimo Campostrini,
15051 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
15056 Michael Welsh Duggan,
15063 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
15068 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
15072 François Felix Ingrand,
15073 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
15080 Peter Skov Knudsen,
15081 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
15082 Thor Kristoffersen,
15097 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
15098 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
15104 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
15109 John McClary Prevost,
15117 Philippe Schnoebelen,
15118 Randal L. Schwartz,
15139 Katsumi Yamaoka. @c Yamaoka
15141 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
15142 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
15143 (550kB and counting).
15145 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
15148 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
15149 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
15153 @subsection New Features
15154 @cindex new features
15157 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
15158 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
15159 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
15162 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
15163 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
15164 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
15168 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
15170 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
15175 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
15176 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
15179 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
15180 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
15183 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
15186 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
15187 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
15188 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
15191 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
15192 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
15193 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
15194 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
15197 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
15198 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15201 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
15202 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
15203 (@pxref{The Active File}).
15206 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
15207 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
15210 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
15211 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
15212 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
15215 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
15216 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
15217 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
15220 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
15221 the @file{.emacs} file.
15224 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
15225 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15228 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
15229 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
15232 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
15233 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15236 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
15237 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
15240 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
15241 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
15244 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
15247 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
15248 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
15251 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
15252 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
15255 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
15256 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
15259 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
15262 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
15263 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
15266 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
15270 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
15274 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
15275 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
15278 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
15284 @node September Gnus
15285 @subsubsection September Gnus
15287 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
15292 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
15293 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
15297 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
15298 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
15302 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
15306 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
15307 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
15310 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
15314 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
15317 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
15320 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
15323 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
15327 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
15328 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
15331 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
15335 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
15339 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
15343 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
15347 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
15350 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
15351 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
15354 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
15358 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
15359 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
15362 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
15365 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
15366 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
15367 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
15370 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
15374 The Gnus cache is much faster.
15377 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
15381 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
15382 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
15385 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
15386 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
15389 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
15390 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
15393 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
15394 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
15395 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
15398 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
15399 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
15402 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
15405 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
15408 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15409 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
15413 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
15416 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
15419 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
15420 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
15423 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
15427 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
15430 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
15433 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
15437 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15440 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
15444 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
15447 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
15450 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
15451 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
15454 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
15455 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
15459 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
15460 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
15463 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
15467 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
15468 buffer to allow easier treatment.
15471 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
15474 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
15478 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
15482 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
15483 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
15486 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
15490 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
15491 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
15494 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
15495 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
15498 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
15502 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
15505 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15506 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
15510 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
15513 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
15519 @subsubsection Red Gnus
15521 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
15526 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
15529 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
15530 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
15533 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
15534 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
15538 Article washing status can be displayed in the
15539 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
15542 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
15545 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
15546 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
15549 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
15553 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
15554 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
15558 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
15559 Server Internals}).
15562 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
15566 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
15569 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
15570 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
15573 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
15574 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
15575 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
15578 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
15579 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
15582 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
15583 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
15586 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
15590 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
15591 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
15594 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
15595 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
15598 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
15602 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
15605 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
15609 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
15610 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
15613 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
15614 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
15617 A new command for reading collections of documents
15618 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
15619 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
15622 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
15626 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
15627 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
15630 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
15631 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
15632 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
15635 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
15636 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
15640 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
15644 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
15648 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
15652 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
15656 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
15657 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
15660 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
15663 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-emphasize)
15669 @node Newest Features
15670 @subsection Newest Features
15673 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
15676 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
15680 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
15682 Really do unbinhexing.
15685 And much, much, much more. There is more to come than has already been
15686 implemented. (But that's always true, isn't it?)
15688 @file{<URL:http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/rgnus/todo>} is where the actual
15689 up-to-the-second todo list is located, so if you're really curious, you
15690 could point your Web browser over that-a-way.
15695 @section The Manual
15699 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
15700 either @code{texi2dvi}
15702 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
15703 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
15705 to get what you hold in your hands now.
15707 The following conventions have been used:
15712 This is a @samp{string}
15715 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
15718 This is a @file{file}
15721 This is a @code{symbol}
15725 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
15729 (setq flargnoze "yes")
15732 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
15735 (setq flumphel 'yes)
15738 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
15739 ever get them confused.
15743 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
15744 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
15745 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
15746 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
15747 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
15748 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
15749 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
15756 @section Terminology
15758 @cindex terminology
15763 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
15764 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
15765 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
15766 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
15767 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
15771 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
15772 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
15773 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
15774 not posting, and replying is not following up.
15778 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
15782 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
15787 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
15788 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
15789 is all done by the backends.
15793 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
15794 default, way of getting news.
15798 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
15799 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
15804 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
15805 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
15809 A message that has been posted as news.
15812 @cindex mail message
15813 A message that has been mailed.
15817 A mail message or news article
15821 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
15826 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
15831 A line from the head of an article.
15835 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
15836 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
15840 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
15841 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
15842 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
15843 normal @sc{head} format.
15847 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
15848 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
15849 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
15850 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
15851 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
15852 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
15854 @item killed groups
15855 @cindex killed groups
15856 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
15857 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
15859 @item zombie groups
15860 @cindex zombie groups
15861 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
15864 @cindex active file
15865 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
15866 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
15867 is rather large, as you might surmise.
15870 @cindex bogus groups
15871 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
15872 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
15873 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
15877 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
15879 @item select method
15880 @cindex select method
15881 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
15884 @item virtual server
15885 @cindex virtual server
15886 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
15887 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
15888 whole is a virtual server.
15892 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
15893 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
15896 @item ephemeral groups
15897 @cindex ephemeral groups
15898 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
15899 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
15900 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
15903 @cindex solid groups
15904 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
15905 group buffer are solid groups.
15907 @item sparse articles
15908 @cindex sparse articles
15909 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
15910 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
15914 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
15915 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
15919 @cindex thread root
15920 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
15921 articles in the thread.
15925 An article that has responses.
15929 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
15933 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
15934 specified by RFC1153.
15939 @node Customization
15940 @section Customization
15941 @cindex general customization
15943 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
15944 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
15945 for some quite common situations.
15948 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
15949 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
15950 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
15951 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
15955 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
15956 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
15958 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
15959 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
15960 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
15964 @item gnus-read-active-file
15965 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
15966 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
15967 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
15968 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
15969 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
15971 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
15972 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
15973 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
15974 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
15978 @node Slow Terminal Connection
15979 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
15981 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
15982 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
15983 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
15987 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
15988 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
15989 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
15990 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
15991 horizontal and vertical recentering.
15993 @item gnus-visible-headers
15994 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
15995 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
15996 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
15997 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
15999 @item gnus-article-display-hook
16000 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
16002 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
16003 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
16004 gnus-article-hide-citation))
16007 @item gnus-use-full-window
16008 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
16009 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
16010 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
16011 want to read them anyway.
16013 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
16014 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
16017 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
16018 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
16019 lines, which might save some time.
16023 @node Little Disk Space
16024 @subsection Little Disk Space
16027 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
16028 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
16032 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
16033 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
16034 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
16035 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
16038 @item gnus-save-killed-list
16039 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
16040 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
16041 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
16042 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
16048 @subsection Slow Machine
16049 @cindex slow machine
16051 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
16052 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
16054 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
16055 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
16057 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
16058 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
16059 summary buffer faster.
16061 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
16062 processing a bit faster.
16065 @node Troubleshooting
16066 @section Troubleshooting
16067 @cindex troubleshooting
16069 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
16077 Make sure your computer is switched on.
16080 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
16081 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
16085 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
16086 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
16087 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
16088 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
16091 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
16095 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
16096 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
16097 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
16098 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
16099 something like that.
16102 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
16105 @cindex reporting bugs
16107 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
16109 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
16110 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
16111 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
16112 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
16114 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
16115 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
16116 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
16117 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
16120 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
16121 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
16122 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
16123 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
16124 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
16125 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
16127 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
16128 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
16129 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
16132 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
16133 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
16135 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
16136 @cindex ding mailing list
16137 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
16138 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
16141 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
16142 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
16144 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
16145 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
16146 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
16147 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
16150 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
16151 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
16152 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
16153 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
16154 and general methods of operation.
16157 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
16158 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
16159 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
16160 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
16161 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
16162 * Group Info:: The group info format.
16163 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
16164 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
16168 @node Gnus Utility Functions
16169 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
16170 @cindex Gnus utility functions
16171 @cindex utility functions
16173 @cindex internal variables
16175 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
16176 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
16177 Below is a list of the most common ones.
16181 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
16182 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
16183 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
16185 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
16186 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
16187 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
16189 @item gnus-group-real-name
16190 @findex gnus-group-real-name
16191 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
16194 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
16195 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
16196 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
16197 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
16199 @item gnus-get-info
16200 @findex gnus-get-info
16201 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
16203 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
16204 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
16205 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
16208 @item gnus-continuum-version
16209 @findex gnus-continuum-version
16210 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
16211 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
16214 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
16215 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
16216 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
16218 @item gnus-news-group-p
16219 @findex gnus-news-group-p
16220 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
16222 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
16223 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
16224 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
16226 @item gnus-server-to-method
16227 @findex gnus-server-to-method
16228 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
16230 @item gnus-server-equal
16231 @findex gnus-server-equal
16232 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
16234 @item gnus-group-native-p
16235 @findex gnus-group-native-p
16236 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
16238 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
16239 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
16240 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
16242 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
16243 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
16244 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
16246 @item group-group-find-parameter
16247 @findex group-group-find-parameter
16248 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
16249 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
16251 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
16252 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
16253 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
16255 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
16256 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
16257 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
16259 @item gnus-check-backend-function
16260 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
16261 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
16262 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
16265 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
16269 @item gnus-read-method
16270 @findex gnus-read-method
16271 Prompts the user for a select method.
16276 @node Backend Interface
16277 @subsection Backend Interface
16279 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
16280 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
16281 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
16282 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
16283 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
16284 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
16286 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
16287 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
16288 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
16289 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
16290 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
16291 been opened, the function should fail.
16293 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
16294 name. Take this example:
16298 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
16299 (nntp-port-number 4324))
16302 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
16303 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
16305 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
16306 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
16307 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
16309 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
16310 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
16311 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
16313 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
16314 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
16315 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
16316 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
16317 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
16318 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
16321 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
16322 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
16323 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
16324 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
16327 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
16330 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
16333 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
16334 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
16335 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
16336 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
16337 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
16338 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
16342 @node Required Backend Functions
16343 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
16347 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
16349 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
16350 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
16351 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
16352 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
16354 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
16355 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
16356 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
16357 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
16359 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
16360 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
16361 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
16362 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
16363 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
16364 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
16365 number, do maximum fetches.
16367 Here's an example HEAD:
16370 221 1056 Article retrieved.
16371 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
16372 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
16373 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
16374 Subject: Re: Something very droll
16375 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
16376 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
16378 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
16379 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
16380 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
16384 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
16385 these in the data buffer.
16387 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
16391 head = error / valid-head
16392 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
16393 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
16394 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
16395 header = <text> eol
16398 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
16399 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
16403 nov-buffer = *nov-line
16404 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
16405 field = <text except TAB>
16408 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
16412 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
16414 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
16415 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
16417 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
16418 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
16419 server. In fact, it should do so.
16421 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
16422 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
16425 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
16427 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
16428 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
16431 There should be no data returned.
16434 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
16436 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
16437 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
16438 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
16439 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
16441 There should be no data returned.
16444 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
16446 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
16447 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
16448 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
16449 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
16451 There should be no data returned.
16454 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
16456 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
16458 There should be no data returned.
16461 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
16463 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
16464 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
16465 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
16466 it would be nice if that were possible.
16468 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
16469 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
16470 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
16471 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
16472 into its article buffer.
16474 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
16475 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
16476 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
16477 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
16478 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
16479 on successful article retrieval.
16482 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
16484 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
16485 making @var{group} the current group.
16487 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
16490 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
16493 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
16496 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
16497 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
16498 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
16499 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
16500 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
16501 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
16502 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
16503 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
16506 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
16507 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
16508 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
16512 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
16514 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
16515 a no-op on most backends.
16517 There should be no data returned.
16520 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
16522 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
16525 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
16528 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
16529 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
16532 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
16533 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
16536 active-file = *active-line
16537 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
16539 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
16542 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
16543 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
16544 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
16547 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
16549 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
16550 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
16551 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
16552 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
16553 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
16554 clear if the posting could not be completed.
16556 There should be no result data from this function.
16561 @node Optional Backend Functions
16562 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
16566 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
16568 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
16569 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
16570 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
16572 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
16573 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
16574 former is in the same format as the data from
16575 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
16576 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
16579 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
16583 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
16585 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
16586 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
16587 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
16588 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
16589 should return the (altered) group info.
16591 There should be no result data from this function.
16594 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
16596 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
16597 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
16598 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
16599 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
16600 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
16601 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
16602 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
16603 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
16605 There should be no result data from this function.
16608 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
16610 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
16611 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
16612 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
16613 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
16614 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
16616 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
16617 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
16618 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
16621 There should be no result data from this function.
16624 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
16626 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
16627 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
16628 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
16629 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
16630 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
16631 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
16632 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
16634 There should be no result data from this function.
16637 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
16639 The result data from this function should be a description of
16643 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
16645 description = <text>
16648 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
16650 The result data from this function should be the description of all
16651 groups available on the server.
16654 description-buffer = *description-line
16658 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
16660 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
16661 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
16662 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
16665 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
16667 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
16669 There should be no return data.
16672 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
16674 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
16675 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
16676 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
16677 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
16678 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
16681 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
16684 There should be no result data returned.
16687 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
16690 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
16691 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
16693 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
16694 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
16695 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
16696 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
16697 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
16698 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
16700 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
16701 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
16704 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
16705 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
16707 There should be no data returned.
16710 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
16712 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
16713 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
16714 this function in short order.
16716 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
16717 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
16719 There should be no data returned.
16722 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
16724 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
16725 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
16727 There should be no data returned.
16730 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
16732 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
16733 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
16734 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
16736 There should be no data returned.
16739 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
16741 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
16742 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
16744 There should be no data returned.
16749 @node Error Messaging
16750 @subsubsection Error Messaging
16752 @findex nnheader-report
16753 @findex nnheader-get-report
16754 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
16755 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
16756 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
16757 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
16758 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
16759 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
16762 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
16764 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
16767 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
16768 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
16769 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
16770 takes one argument---the server symbol.
16772 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
16773 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
16774 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
16777 @node Writing New Backends
16778 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
16780 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
16781 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
16782 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
16783 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
16784 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
16787 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
16788 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
16789 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
16791 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
16792 package called @code{nnoo}.
16794 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
16795 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
16801 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
16802 parameters. For instance:
16805 (nnoo-declare nndir
16809 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
16810 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
16813 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
16814 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
16815 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
16817 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
16818 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
16819 a function in those backends.
16822 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
16823 "Where nndir will look for groups."
16824 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
16827 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
16828 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
16829 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
16831 @item nnoo-define-basics
16832 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
16836 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
16840 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
16841 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
16842 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
16844 @item nnoo-map-functions
16845 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
16846 functions from the parent backends.
16849 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
16850 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
16851 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
16854 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
16855 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
16856 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
16857 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
16860 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
16861 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
16862 haven't already been defined.
16868 nnmh-request-newgroups)
16872 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
16873 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
16874 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
16879 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
16882 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
16883 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
16887 (require 'nnheader)
16891 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
16893 (nnoo-declare nndir
16896 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
16897 "Where nndir will look for groups."
16898 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
16900 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
16901 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
16904 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
16905 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
16906 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
16908 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
16909 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
16911 ;;; Interface functions.
16913 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
16915 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
16916 (setq nndir-directory
16917 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
16919 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
16920 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
16921 (push `(nndir-current-group
16922 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
16924 (push `(nndir-top-directory
16925 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
16927 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
16929 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
16930 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
16931 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
16932 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
16933 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
16937 nnmh-status-message
16939 nnmh-request-newgroups))
16945 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
16946 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
16948 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
16949 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
16950 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
16951 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
16953 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
16954 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
16959 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
16962 The abilities can be:
16966 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
16968 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
16970 This backend supports both mail and news.
16972 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
16975 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
16976 articles and groups.
16978 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
16979 true for almost all backends.
16980 @item prompt-address
16981 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
16982 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
16983 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
16987 @node Mail-like Backends
16988 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
16990 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
16991 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
16992 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
16993 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
16996 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
16997 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
16998 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
17001 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
17002 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
17005 This function takes four parameters.
17009 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
17012 @item exit-function
17013 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
17015 @item temp-directory
17016 Where the temporary files should be stored.
17019 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
17020 performed for one group only.
17023 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
17024 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
17025 find the article number assigned to this article.
17027 The function also uses the following variables:
17028 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
17029 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
17030 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
17031 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
17035 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
17036 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
17040 @node Score File Syntax
17041 @subsection Score File Syntax
17043 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
17044 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
17045 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
17047 Here's a typical score file:
17051 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
17058 BNF definition of a score file:
17061 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
17062 element = rule / atom
17063 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
17064 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
17065 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
17066 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
17068 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
17069 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
17070 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
17071 date-header = "date"
17072 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
17073 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
17074 score = "nil" / <integer>
17075 date = "nil" / <natural number>
17076 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
17077 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
17078 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
17079 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
17080 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
17081 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
17082 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
17083 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
17084 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
17085 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
17086 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
17087 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
17088 exclude-files / read-only / touched
17089 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
17090 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
17091 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
17092 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
17093 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
17094 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
17095 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
17096 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
17097 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
17098 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
17099 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
17100 eval = "eval" space <form>
17101 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
17104 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
17107 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
17108 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
17109 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
17110 one looong line, then that's ok.
17112 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
17113 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
17117 @subsection Headers
17119 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
17120 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
17121 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
17122 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
17124 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
17125 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
17126 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
17127 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
17128 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
17129 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
17130 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
17132 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
17133 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
17134 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
17135 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
17136 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
17138 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
17145 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
17146 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
17148 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
17149 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
17150 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
17151 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
17153 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
17157 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
17160 is transformed into
17163 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
17166 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
17167 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
17170 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
17173 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
17174 is slightly tricky:
17177 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
17183 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
17186 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
17192 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
17199 and is equal to the previous range.
17201 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
17202 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
17203 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
17207 range = simple-range / normal-range
17208 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
17209 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
17210 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
17211 number *[ " " contents ]
17214 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
17215 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
17216 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
17217 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
17218 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
17223 @subsection Group Info
17225 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
17226 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
17227 describes the group.
17229 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
17230 second is a more complex one:
17233 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
17235 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
17236 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
17238 (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@gnus.org")))
17241 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
17242 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
17243 normally is a small integer. The third element is a list of ranges of
17244 read articles. The fourth element is a list of lists of article marks
17245 of various kinds. The fifth element is the select method (or virtual
17246 server, if you like). The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group
17247 parameters}, which is what this section is about.
17249 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
17250 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
17251 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
17253 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
17256 info = "(" group space level space read
17257 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
17258 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
17259 group = quote <string> quote
17260 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
17262 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
17263 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
17264 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
17265 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
17268 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
17269 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
17272 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
17273 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
17276 @item gnus-info-group
17277 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
17278 @findex gnus-info-group
17279 @findex gnus-info-set-group
17280 Get/set the group name.
17282 @item gnus-info-rank
17283 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
17284 @findex gnus-info-rank
17285 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
17286 Get/set the group rank.
17288 @item gnus-info-level
17289 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
17290 @findex gnus-info-level
17291 @findex gnus-info-set-level
17292 Get/set the group level.
17294 @item gnus-info-score
17295 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
17296 @findex gnus-info-score
17297 @findex gnus-info-set-score
17298 Get/set the group score.
17300 @item gnus-info-read
17301 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
17302 @findex gnus-info-read
17303 @findex gnus-info-set-read
17304 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
17306 @item gnus-info-marks
17307 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
17308 @findex gnus-info-marks
17309 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
17310 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
17312 @item gnus-info-method
17313 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
17314 @findex gnus-info-method
17315 @findex gnus-info-set-method
17316 Get/set the group select method.
17318 @item gnus-info-params
17319 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
17320 @findex gnus-info-params
17321 @findex gnus-info-set-params
17322 Get/set the group parameters.
17325 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
17326 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
17328 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
17329 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
17330 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
17331 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
17334 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
17335 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
17339 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
17340 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
17341 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
17343 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
17344 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
17345 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
17346 Gnus, that's very useful.
17348 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
17349 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
17350 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
17351 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
17352 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
17353 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
17354 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
17355 following function:
17358 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
17362 (,function ,@@args))
17366 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
17367 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
17368 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
17371 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
17372 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
17373 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
17375 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
17376 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
17377 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
17380 @node Various File Formats
17381 @subsection Various File Formats
17384 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
17385 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
17389 @node Active File Format
17390 @subsubsection Active File Format
17392 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
17393 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
17396 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
17399 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
17400 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
17401 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
17402 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
17403 no.general 1000 900 y
17406 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
17409 active = *group-line
17410 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
17411 group = <non-white-space string>
17413 high-number = <non-negative integer>
17414 low-number = <positive integer>
17415 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
17419 @node Newsgroups File Format
17420 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
17422 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
17423 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
17424 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
17427 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
17428 Here's the definition:
17432 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
17433 group = <non-white-space string>
17435 description = <string>
17439 @node Emacs for Heathens
17440 @section Emacs for Heathens
17442 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
17443 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
17444 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
17445 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
17446 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
17447 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
17448 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
17452 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
17453 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
17458 @subsection Keystrokes
17462 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
17465 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
17468 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
17469 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
17470 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
17471 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
17472 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
17473 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
17475 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
17476 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
17477 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
17478 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
17479 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
17480 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
17481 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
17483 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
17484 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
17485 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
17486 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
17487 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
17488 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
17489 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
17491 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
17492 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
17493 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
17494 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
17495 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
17501 @subsection Emacs Lisp
17503 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
17504 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
17505 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
17506 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
17508 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
17509 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
17510 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
17511 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
17512 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
17513 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
17514 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
17517 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
17518 write the following:
17521 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
17524 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
17525 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
17526 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
17529 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
17530 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
17531 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
17532 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
17533 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
17535 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
17536 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
17537 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
17541 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
17545 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
17548 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
17549 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
17552 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
17555 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
17556 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
17559 @include gnus-faq.texi