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334 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
339 @setchapternewpage odd
346 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
348 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
354 @top The Gnus Newsreader
358 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
359 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
360 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
363 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.3.
374 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
375 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
377 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
378 being accused of plagiarism:
380 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
381 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
382 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
383 can even read news with it!
385 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
386 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
387 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
388 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
389 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
395 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
396 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
397 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
398 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
399 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
400 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
401 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
402 * Various:: General purpose settings.
403 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
404 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
405 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
406 * Key Index:: Key Index.
408 Other related manuals
410 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
411 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
412 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
413 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
414 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
417 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
421 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
422 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
423 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
424 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
425 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
426 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
427 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
428 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
429 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
430 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
431 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
435 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
436 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
437 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
441 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
442 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
443 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
444 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
445 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
446 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
447 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
448 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
449 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
450 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
451 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
452 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
453 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
454 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
455 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
456 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
457 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
461 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
462 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
463 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
467 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
468 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
469 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
470 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
471 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
475 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
476 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
477 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
478 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
479 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
483 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
484 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
485 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
486 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
487 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
488 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
489 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
490 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
491 * Threading:: How threads are made.
492 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
493 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
494 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
495 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
496 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
497 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
498 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
499 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
500 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
501 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
502 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
503 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
504 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
505 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
506 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
507 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
508 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
509 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
510 or reselecting the current group.
511 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
512 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
513 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
514 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
516 Summary Buffer Format
518 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
519 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
520 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
521 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
525 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
526 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
528 Reply, Followup and Post
530 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
531 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
532 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
533 * Canceling and Superseding::
537 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
538 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
539 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
540 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
541 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
542 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
546 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
547 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
549 Customizing Threading
551 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
552 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
553 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
554 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
558 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
559 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
560 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
561 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
562 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
563 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
567 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
568 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
569 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
573 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
574 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
575 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
576 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
577 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
578 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
579 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
580 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
581 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
582 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
583 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
585 Alternative Approaches
587 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
588 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
590 Various Summary Stuff
592 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
593 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
594 * Summary Generation Commands::
595 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
599 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
600 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
601 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
602 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
603 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
607 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
608 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
609 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
610 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
611 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
612 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
613 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
614 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
615 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
619 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
620 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
621 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
622 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
623 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
624 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
625 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
626 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
627 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
631 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
632 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
633 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
634 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
635 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
636 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
637 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
641 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
642 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
646 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
647 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
648 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
649 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
653 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
654 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
655 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
656 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
657 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
658 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
659 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
660 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
661 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
662 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
663 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
664 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
665 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
669 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
670 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
671 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
673 Choosing a Mail Back End
675 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
676 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
677 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
678 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
679 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
680 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
681 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
686 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
687 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
688 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
689 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
690 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
691 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
695 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
696 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
697 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
698 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
699 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
700 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
704 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
705 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
706 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
707 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
708 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
712 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
716 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
717 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
718 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
722 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
723 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
727 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
728 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
729 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
733 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
734 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
735 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
737 The Gnus Diary Library
739 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
740 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
741 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
742 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
746 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
747 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
748 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
749 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
750 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
751 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
752 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
753 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
754 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
755 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
756 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
757 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
758 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
762 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
763 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
764 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
768 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
769 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
770 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
774 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
775 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
776 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
777 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
778 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
779 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
780 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
781 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
782 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
783 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
784 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
785 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
786 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
787 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
788 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
789 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
793 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
794 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
795 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
799 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
800 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
801 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
802 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
803 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
804 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
805 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
806 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
807 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
808 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
809 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
810 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
811 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
812 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
813 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
814 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
815 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
816 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
817 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
818 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
822 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
823 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
824 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
825 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
826 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
827 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
828 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
829 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
833 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
834 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
835 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
836 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
837 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
841 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
842 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
843 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
844 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
845 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
846 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
848 Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
850 * Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events::
851 * Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail::
852 * Spam ELisp Package Global Variables::
853 * Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples::
854 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
856 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
857 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
859 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
861 * SpamAssassin back end::
862 * ifile spam filtering::
863 * spam-stat spam filtering::
865 * Extending the Spam ELisp package::
867 Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
869 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
870 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
871 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
875 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
876 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
877 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
878 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
879 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
880 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
881 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
882 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
883 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
887 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
888 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
889 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
890 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
891 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
892 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
893 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
894 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
895 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
899 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
900 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
901 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
902 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
903 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
904 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
905 * No Gnus:: Lars, FIXME!
909 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
910 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
911 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
912 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
916 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
917 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
918 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
919 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
920 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
921 * Group Info:: The group info format.
922 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
923 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
924 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
928 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
929 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
930 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
931 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
932 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
933 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
937 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
938 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
942 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
943 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
949 @chapter Starting Gnus
954 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
955 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
958 @findex gnus-other-frame
959 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
960 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
961 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
963 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
964 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
965 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
967 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
968 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
971 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
972 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
973 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
974 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
975 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
976 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
977 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
978 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
979 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
980 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
984 @node Finding the News
985 @section Finding the News
988 @vindex gnus-select-method
990 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
991 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
992 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
993 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
996 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
997 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1000 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1003 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1006 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1009 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1010 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1011 server is running Leafnode (which is a simple, standalone private news
1012 server); in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1014 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1016 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1017 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1018 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1019 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1020 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1021 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1022 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1024 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1025 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1026 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1027 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1029 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1030 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1031 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1032 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1033 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1034 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1035 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1036 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1037 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1040 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1042 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1043 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1044 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1045 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1046 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1047 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1049 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1051 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1052 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1053 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1054 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1055 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1056 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1059 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1060 you would typically set this variable to
1063 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1066 Note: the @acronym{NNTP} back end stores marks in marks files
1067 (@pxref{NNTP marks}). This feature makes it easy to share marks between
1068 several Gnus installations, but may slow down things a bit when fetching
1069 new articles. @xref{NNTP marks}, for more information.
1072 @node The First Time
1073 @section The First Time
1074 @cindex first time usage
1076 If no startup files exist (@pxref{Startup Files}), Gnus will try to
1077 determine what groups should be subscribed by default.
1079 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1080 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1081 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1082 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1085 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1086 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1087 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1089 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1090 help you with most common problems.
1092 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1093 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1097 @node The Server is Down
1098 @section The Server is Down
1099 @cindex server errors
1101 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1102 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1103 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1105 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1106 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1107 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1108 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1109 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1110 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1111 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1113 @findex gnus-no-server
1114 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1116 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1117 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1118 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1119 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1120 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1121 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1122 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1126 @section Slave Gnusae
1129 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1130 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1131 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1132 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1134 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1135 @file{.newsrc} file.
1137 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1138 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1139 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1140 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1141 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1142 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1143 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1146 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1147 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1148 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1149 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1150 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1151 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1152 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1153 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1155 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1156 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1158 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1159 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1160 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1161 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1162 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1169 @cindex subscription
1171 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1172 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1173 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1174 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1175 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1176 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1177 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1178 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1179 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1182 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1183 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1184 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1188 @node Checking New Groups
1189 @subsection Checking New Groups
1191 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1192 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1193 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1194 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1195 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1196 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1197 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1198 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1199 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1200 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1202 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1203 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1204 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1205 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1206 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1207 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1208 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1209 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1210 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1211 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1212 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1214 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1215 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1216 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1217 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1218 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1219 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1222 @node Subscription Methods
1223 @subsection Subscription Methods
1225 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1226 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1227 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1229 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1230 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1232 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1236 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1237 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1238 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1239 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1240 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1242 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1243 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1244 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1245 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1247 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1248 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1249 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1251 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1252 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1253 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1254 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1255 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1256 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1257 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1258 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1259 up. Or something like that.
1261 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1262 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1263 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1264 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1265 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1267 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1268 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1269 Kill all new groups.
1271 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1272 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1273 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1274 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1275 topic parameter that looks like
1281 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1284 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1289 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1290 A closely related variable is
1291 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1292 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1293 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1294 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1297 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1298 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1299 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1300 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1303 @node Filtering New Groups
1304 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1306 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1307 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1308 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1311 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1314 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1315 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1316 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1317 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1318 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1319 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1320 subscribing these groups.
1321 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1322 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1324 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1325 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1326 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1327 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1328 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1329 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1330 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1331 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1333 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1334 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1335 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1336 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1337 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1338 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1339 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1340 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1341 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1342 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1345 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1346 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1349 @node Changing Servers
1350 @section Changing Servers
1351 @cindex changing servers
1353 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1354 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1355 very flaky and you want to use another.
1357 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1358 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1362 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1363 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1364 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1365 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1368 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1369 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1370 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1371 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1373 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1374 @findex gnus-change-server
1375 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1376 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1377 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1378 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1379 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1381 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1382 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1383 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1384 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1385 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1387 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1388 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1389 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1390 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1391 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1392 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1394 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1395 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1396 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1397 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1399 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1400 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1401 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1402 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1403 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1404 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1405 cache for all groups).
1409 @section Startup Files
1410 @cindex startup files
1415 Most common Unix news readers use a shared startup file called
1416 @file{.newsrc}. This file contains all the information about what
1417 groups are subscribed, and which articles in these groups have been
1420 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1421 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1422 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1423 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1424 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1425 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1426 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1428 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1429 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1430 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1431 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1432 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1433 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1435 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1436 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1437 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1438 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1439 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1440 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1441 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1442 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1443 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which can be
1444 convenient if you use a different news reader occasionally, and you
1445 want to read a different subset of the available groups with that
1448 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1449 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1450 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1451 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1452 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1453 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1454 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1455 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1456 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1457 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1458 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1459 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1461 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1462 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1463 @vindex version-control
1464 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1465 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1466 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1467 If you want version control for this file, set
1468 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1469 @code{version-control} variable.
1471 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1472 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1473 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1474 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1475 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1476 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1477 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1478 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1479 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1480 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1483 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1484 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1486 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1487 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1490 @vindex gnus-init-file
1491 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1492 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1493 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus-init} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1494 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1495 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1496 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1497 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1498 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1499 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1500 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order). If Emacs was invoked with
1501 the @option{-q} or @option{--no-init-file} options (@pxref{Initial
1502 Options, ,Initial Options, emacs, The Emacs Manual}), Gnus doesn't read
1503 @code{gnus-init-file}.
1508 @cindex dribble file
1511 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1512 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1513 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1514 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1515 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1518 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1519 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1522 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1523 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1524 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1526 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1527 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1528 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1529 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1530 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1531 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1533 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1534 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1535 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1538 @node The Active File
1539 @section The Active File
1541 @cindex ignored groups
1543 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1544 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1545 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1547 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1548 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1549 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1550 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1551 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1552 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1553 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1556 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1557 @c if you set it to anything else.
1559 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1561 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1562 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1563 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1565 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1566 you actually subscribe to.
1568 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1569 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1570 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1571 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1573 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1574 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1575 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1576 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1577 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1578 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1580 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1581 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1582 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1585 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1586 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1587 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1588 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1589 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1590 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1592 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1593 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1595 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1596 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1598 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1599 secondary select methods.
1602 @node Startup Variables
1603 @section Startup Variables
1607 @item gnus-load-hook
1608 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1609 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1610 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1611 times you start Gnus.
1613 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1614 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1615 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1617 @item gnus-startup-hook
1618 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1619 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1621 @item gnus-started-hook
1622 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1623 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1626 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1627 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1628 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1629 generating the group buffer.
1631 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1632 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1633 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1634 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1635 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1636 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1637 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1638 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1640 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1641 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1642 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1643 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1644 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1645 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1647 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1648 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1649 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1651 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1652 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1653 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1655 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1656 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1657 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1658 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1664 @chapter Group Buffer
1665 @cindex group buffer
1667 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1669 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1670 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1671 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1672 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1673 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1674 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1675 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1676 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1677 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1678 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1679 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1680 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1681 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1682 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1683 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1684 @c human rights at 9...
1687 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1688 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1689 long as Gnus is active.
1693 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1694 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1695 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1696 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1697 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1698 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1699 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1700 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1706 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1707 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1708 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1709 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1710 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1711 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1712 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1713 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1714 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1715 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1716 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1717 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1718 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1719 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1720 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1721 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1722 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1726 @node Group Buffer Format
1727 @section Group Buffer Format
1730 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1731 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1732 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1736 @node Group Line Specification
1737 @subsection Group Line Specification
1738 @cindex group buffer format
1740 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1741 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1743 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1746 25: news.announce.newusers
1747 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1752 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1753 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1754 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1755 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1757 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1758 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1759 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1760 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1761 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1762 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1764 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1766 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1767 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1768 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1769 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1770 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1772 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1773 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1774 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1776 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1781 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1784 Whether the group is subscribed.
1787 Level of subscribedness.
1790 Number of unread articles.
1793 Number of dormant articles.
1796 Number of ticked articles.
1799 Number of read articles.
1802 Number of unseen articles.
1805 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1806 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1808 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1809 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1810 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1811 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1812 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1813 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1814 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1815 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1818 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1821 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1830 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1831 comment element in the group parameters.
1834 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1835 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1836 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1840 @samp{m} if moderated.
1843 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1849 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1855 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1859 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1862 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1863 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1864 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1865 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1866 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1869 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1871 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1875 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1878 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1882 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1883 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1884 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1885 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1888 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1889 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1890 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1891 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1892 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1893 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1898 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1899 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1900 group, or a bogus native group.
1903 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1904 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1905 @cindex group mode line
1907 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1908 The mode line can be changed by setting
1909 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1910 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1914 The native news server.
1916 The native select method.
1920 @node Group Highlighting
1921 @subsection Group Highlighting
1922 @cindex highlighting
1923 @cindex group highlighting
1925 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1926 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1927 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1928 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1929 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1931 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1935 (cond (window-system
1936 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1937 (defface my-group-face-1
1938 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1939 (defface my-group-face-2
1940 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1941 "Second group face")
1942 (defface my-group-face-3
1943 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1944 (defface my-group-face-4
1945 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1946 (defface my-group-face-5
1947 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1949 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1950 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1951 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1952 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1953 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1954 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1957 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1959 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1966 The number of unread articles in the group.
1970 Whether the group is a mail group.
1972 The level of the group.
1974 The score of the group.
1976 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1978 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1979 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1981 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1982 topic being inserted.
1985 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1986 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1987 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1989 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1990 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1991 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1992 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1993 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1996 @node Group Maneuvering
1997 @section Group Maneuvering
1998 @cindex group movement
2000 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
2001 expected, hopefully.
2007 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
2008 Go to the next group that has unread articles
2009 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2015 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2016 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2017 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2021 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2022 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2026 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2027 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2031 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2032 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2033 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2037 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2038 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2039 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2042 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2048 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2049 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2050 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2055 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2056 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2057 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2061 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2062 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2063 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2066 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2067 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2068 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2069 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2073 @node Selecting a Group
2074 @section Selecting a Group
2075 @cindex group selection
2080 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2081 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2082 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2083 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2084 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2085 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2086 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2087 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2088 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2089 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2091 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2092 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2093 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2095 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2096 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2101 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2102 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2103 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2104 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2105 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2109 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2110 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2111 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2112 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2113 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2114 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2115 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2116 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2117 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2118 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2121 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2122 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2123 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2124 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2125 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2128 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2129 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2130 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2131 doing any processing of its contents
2132 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2133 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2134 manner will have no permanent effects.
2138 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2139 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2140 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2141 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2142 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2143 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2144 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2145 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2146 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2147 most recently will be fetched.
2149 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2150 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2151 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2154 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2155 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2156 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2157 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2158 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2159 Which article this is is controlled by the
2160 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2166 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2169 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2172 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2174 @item unseen-or-unread
2175 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2176 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2180 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2184 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2185 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2187 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2188 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2189 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2190 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2194 @node Subscription Commands
2195 @section Subscription Commands
2196 @cindex subscription
2204 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2205 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2206 Toggle subscription to the current group
2207 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2213 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2214 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2215 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2216 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2222 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2223 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2224 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2230 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2231 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2234 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2235 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2236 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2237 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2238 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2244 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2245 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2249 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2250 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2253 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2254 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2255 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2256 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2257 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2258 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2259 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2260 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2261 @file{.newsrc} file.
2265 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2275 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2276 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2277 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2278 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2279 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2280 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2285 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2286 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2287 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2291 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2292 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2293 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2295 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2296 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2297 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2298 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2299 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2300 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2307 @section Group Levels
2311 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2312 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2313 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2314 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2315 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2317 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2323 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2324 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2325 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2326 prompted for a level.
2329 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2330 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2331 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2332 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2333 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2334 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2335 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2336 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2337 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2338 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2339 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2340 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2341 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2342 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2343 reasons of efficiency.
2345 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2346 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2348 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2349 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2350 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2351 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2352 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2353 groups are hidden, in a way.
2355 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2356 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2357 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2358 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2359 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2360 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2362 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2363 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2364 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2365 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2366 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2367 list of killed groups.)
2369 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2370 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2371 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2373 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2374 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2375 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2376 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2377 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2378 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2379 relevant valid ranges.
2381 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2382 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2383 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2384 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2385 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2386 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2389 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2390 one with the best level.
2392 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2393 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2394 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2397 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2398 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2399 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2400 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2403 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2404 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2405 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2406 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2408 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2409 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2410 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2411 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2412 to 5. The default is 6.
2416 @section Group Score
2421 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2422 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2423 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2426 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2427 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2428 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2429 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2430 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2431 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2432 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2433 least significant part.))
2435 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2436 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2437 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2438 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2439 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2440 action after each summary exit, you can add
2441 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2442 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2443 slow things down somewhat.
2446 @node Marking Groups
2447 @section Marking Groups
2448 @cindex marking groups
2450 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2451 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2452 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2453 bidding on those groups.
2455 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2456 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2457 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2465 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2466 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2472 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2473 Remove the mark from the current group
2474 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2478 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2479 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2483 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2484 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2488 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2489 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2493 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2494 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2495 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2498 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2500 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2501 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2502 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2503 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2504 the command to be executed.
2507 @node Foreign Groups
2508 @section Foreign Groups
2509 @cindex foreign groups
2511 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2512 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2513 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2514 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2521 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2522 @cindex making groups
2523 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2524 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2525 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2529 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2530 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2531 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2535 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2536 @cindex renaming groups
2537 Rename the current group to something else
2538 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2539 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2545 @findex gnus-group-customize
2546 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2550 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2551 @cindex renaming groups
2552 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2553 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2557 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2558 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2559 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2563 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2564 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2565 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2569 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2571 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2572 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2577 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2578 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2582 @cindex (ding) archive
2583 @cindex archive group
2584 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2585 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2586 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2587 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2588 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2589 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2590 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2594 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2596 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2597 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2598 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2599 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2603 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2605 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2606 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2607 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2611 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2612 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2614 Make a group based on some file or other
2615 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2616 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2617 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2618 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2619 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2620 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2621 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2622 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2623 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2627 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2628 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2629 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2630 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2634 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2638 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2639 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2640 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2641 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2642 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2643 @xref{Web Searches}.
2645 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2646 to a particular group by using a match string like
2647 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2651 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2652 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2653 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2657 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2658 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2659 This function will delete the current group
2660 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2661 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2662 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2663 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2664 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2668 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2669 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2670 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2674 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2675 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2676 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2679 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2682 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2683 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2684 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2685 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2686 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2687 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2691 @node Group Parameters
2692 @section Group Parameters
2693 @cindex group parameters
2695 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2696 Here's an example group parameter list:
2699 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2703 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2704 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2705 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2706 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2708 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2709 is an alist of regexps and values.
2711 The following group parameters can be used:
2716 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2719 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2722 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2723 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2724 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2725 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2726 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2728 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2729 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2730 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2731 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2732 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2733 list address instead.
2735 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2739 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2742 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2745 It is totally ignored
2746 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2747 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2749 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2750 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2751 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2752 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2753 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2755 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2756 @cindex mail list groups
2757 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2758 entering summary buffer.
2760 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2765 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2766 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2767 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2768 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2769 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2770 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2771 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2772 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2775 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2776 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2779 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2780 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2784 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2785 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2786 of whether it has any unread articles.
2788 @item broken-reply-to
2789 @cindex broken-reply-to
2790 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2791 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2792 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2793 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2794 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2795 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2799 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2800 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2804 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2805 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2806 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2811 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2812 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2813 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2814 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2815 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2816 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2817 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2819 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2820 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2821 doesn't accept articles.
2825 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2826 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2827 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2829 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2832 @cindex total-expire
2833 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2834 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2835 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2836 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2839 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2843 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2844 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2845 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2846 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2847 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2848 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2849 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2852 @cindex expiry-target
2853 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2854 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2857 @cindex score file group parameter
2858 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2859 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2860 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2863 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2864 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2865 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2866 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2869 @cindex admin-address
2870 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2871 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2872 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2873 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2877 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2878 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2882 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2885 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2886 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2889 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2893 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2895 Here are some examples:
2899 Display only unread articles.
2902 Display everything except expirable articles.
2904 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2905 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2909 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2910 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2911 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2912 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2913 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2917 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2918 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2919 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2923 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2924 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2925 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2929 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2930 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2931 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2933 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2935 @item ignored-charsets
2936 @cindex ignored-charset
2937 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2938 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2939 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2941 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2944 @cindex posting-style
2945 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2946 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2947 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2948 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2949 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2951 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2952 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2953 like this in the group parameters:
2958 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2959 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2964 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2965 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2969 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
2970 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
2971 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2972 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2973 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2977 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2978 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2979 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2980 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2982 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
2983 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2984 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2985 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2988 if address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com" @{
2989 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
2993 To generate tests for multiple email-addresses use a group parameter
2994 like @code{(sieve address "sender" ("name@@one.org" else@@two.org"))}.
2995 When generating a sieve script (@pxref{Sieve Commands}) Sieve code
2996 like the following is generated:
2999 if address "sender" ["name@@one.org", "else@@two.org"] @{
3000 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3004 See @pxref{Sieve Commands} for commands and variables that might be of
3005 interest in relation to the sieve parameter.
3007 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3008 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3010 @item (agent parameters)
3011 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of the its parameters
3012 to control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3013 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3014 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3015 minimize the configuration effort.
3017 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3018 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3019 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3020 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3021 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3022 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3023 @code{eval}ed there.
3025 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer.
3026 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3027 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3028 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3029 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3030 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3031 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3032 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3035 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3038 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3039 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3040 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3043 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3046 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3047 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3048 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3049 into the group parameters for the group.
3051 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function. If you want to
3052 hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put something like
3053 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group.
3054 @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the (meaningless) result of the
3057 Alternatively, since the VARIABLE becomes local to the group, this
3058 pattern can be used to temporarily change a hook. For example, if the
3059 following is added to a group parameter
3062 (gnus-summary-prepared-hook
3063 '(lambda nil (local-set-key "d" (local-key-binding "n"))))
3066 when the group is entered, the 'd' key will not mark the article as
3071 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
3072 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
3073 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
3074 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
3075 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
3077 @vindex gnus-parameters
3078 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3079 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
3083 (setq gnus-parameters
3085 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3086 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3087 (gnus-summary-line-format
3088 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3092 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3096 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3100 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3103 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3104 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3107 @node Listing Groups
3108 @section Listing Groups
3109 @cindex group listing
3111 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3119 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3120 List all groups that have unread articles
3121 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3122 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3123 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3124 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3131 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3132 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3133 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3134 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3135 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3136 unsubscribed groups).
3140 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3141 List all unread groups on a specific level
3142 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3143 with no unread articles.
3147 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3148 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3149 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3150 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3155 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3156 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3160 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3161 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3162 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3166 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3167 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3171 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3172 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3173 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3174 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3175 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3176 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3177 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3178 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3182 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3183 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3184 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3188 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3189 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3190 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3194 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3195 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3199 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3200 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3204 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3205 List groups limited within the current selection
3206 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3210 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3211 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3215 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3216 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3220 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3221 @cindex visible group parameter
3222 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3223 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3224 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3225 get the same effect.
3227 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3228 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3229 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3230 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3231 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3234 @node Sorting Groups
3235 @section Sorting Groups
3236 @cindex sorting groups
3238 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3239 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3240 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3241 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3242 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3243 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3248 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3249 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3250 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3252 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3253 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3254 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3256 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3257 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3258 Sort by group level.
3260 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3261 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3262 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3264 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3265 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3266 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3267 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3269 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3270 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3271 Sort by number of unread articles.
3273 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3274 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3275 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3277 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3278 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3279 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3284 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3285 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3289 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3290 some sorting criteria:
3294 @kindex G S a (Group)
3295 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3296 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3297 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3300 @kindex G S u (Group)
3301 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3302 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3303 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3306 @kindex G S l (Group)
3307 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3308 Sort the group buffer by group level
3309 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3312 @kindex G S v (Group)
3313 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3314 Sort the group buffer by group score
3315 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3318 @kindex G S r (Group)
3319 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3320 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3321 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3324 @kindex G S m (Group)
3325 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3326 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3327 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3330 @kindex G S n (Group)
3331 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3332 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3333 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3337 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3338 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3340 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3341 commands will sort in reverse order.
3343 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3347 @kindex G P a (Group)
3348 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3349 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3350 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3353 @kindex G P u (Group)
3354 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3355 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3356 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3359 @kindex G P l (Group)
3360 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3361 Sort the groups by group level
3362 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3365 @kindex G P v (Group)
3366 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3367 Sort the groups by group score
3368 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3371 @kindex G P r (Group)
3372 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3373 Sort the groups by group rank
3374 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3377 @kindex G P m (Group)
3378 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3379 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3380 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3383 @kindex G P n (Group)
3384 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3385 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3386 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3389 @kindex G P s (Group)
3390 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3391 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3395 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3399 @node Group Maintenance
3400 @section Group Maintenance
3401 @cindex bogus groups
3406 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3407 Find bogus groups and delete them
3408 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3412 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3413 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3414 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3415 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3416 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3420 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3421 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3422 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3423 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3424 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3425 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3428 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3429 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3430 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3431 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3436 @node Browse Foreign Server
3437 @section Browse Foreign Server
3438 @cindex foreign servers
3439 @cindex browsing servers
3444 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3445 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3446 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3447 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3450 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3451 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3452 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3453 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3455 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3460 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3461 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3465 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3466 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3469 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3470 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3471 Enter the current group and display the first article
3472 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3475 @kindex RET (Browse)
3476 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3477 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3481 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3482 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3483 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3489 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3490 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3494 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3495 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3499 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3500 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3501 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3506 @section Exiting Gnus
3507 @cindex exiting Gnus
3509 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3514 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3515 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3516 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3517 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3521 @findex gnus-group-exit
3522 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3523 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3527 @findex gnus-group-quit
3528 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3529 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3532 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3533 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3534 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3535 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3536 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3537 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3543 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3544 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3545 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3551 @section Group Topics
3554 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3555 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3556 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3557 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3558 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3559 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3563 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3564 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3575 2: alt.religion.emacs
3578 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3580 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3581 13: comp.sources.unix
3584 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3586 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3587 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3588 is a toggling command.)
3590 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3591 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3592 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3593 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3596 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3597 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3598 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3601 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3605 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3606 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3607 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3608 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3609 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3613 @node Topic Commands
3614 @subsection Topic Commands
3615 @cindex topic commands
3617 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3618 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3619 definitions slightly.
3621 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3622 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3623 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3624 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3625 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3626 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3628 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3635 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3636 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3637 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3641 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3643 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3644 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3645 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3646 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3649 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3650 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3651 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3652 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3656 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3657 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3658 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3659 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3665 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3666 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3667 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3671 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3672 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3673 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3676 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3677 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3678 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3679 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3680 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3682 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3683 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3687 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3688 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3695 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3697 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3698 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3699 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3700 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3701 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3702 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3706 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3712 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3713 Move the current group to some other topic
3714 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3715 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3719 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3720 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3724 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3725 Copy the current group to some other topic
3726 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3727 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3731 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3732 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3733 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3737 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3738 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3739 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3743 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3744 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3745 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3746 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3747 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3748 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3749 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3752 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3753 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3757 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3758 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3759 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3763 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3764 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3765 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3769 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3770 Toggle hiding empty topics
3771 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3775 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3776 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3777 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3778 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3781 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3782 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3783 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3784 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3785 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3788 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3789 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3790 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3791 expiry process (if any)
3792 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3796 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3797 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3800 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3801 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3802 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3806 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3807 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3808 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3811 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3812 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3813 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3816 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3817 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3818 Go to the previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3822 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3823 @cindex group parameters
3824 @cindex topic parameters
3826 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3827 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3832 @node Topic Variables
3833 @subsection Topic Variables
3834 @cindex topic variables
3836 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3837 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3839 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3840 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3841 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3854 Number of groups in the topic.
3856 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3858 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3861 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3862 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3863 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3866 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3867 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3869 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3870 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3871 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3875 @subsection Topic Sorting
3876 @cindex topic sorting
3878 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3884 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3885 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3886 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3887 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3890 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3891 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3892 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3893 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3896 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3897 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3898 Sort the current topic by group level
3899 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3902 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3903 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3904 Sort the current topic by group score
3905 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3908 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3909 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3910 Sort the current topic by group rank
3911 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3914 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3915 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3916 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3917 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3920 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3921 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3922 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3923 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3926 @kindex T S s (Topic)
3927 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3928 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3929 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3930 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3934 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3935 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3939 @node Topic Topology
3940 @subsection Topic Topology
3941 @cindex topic topology
3944 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3951 2: alt.religion.emacs
3954 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3956 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3957 13: comp.sources.unix
3961 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3962 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3963 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3968 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3969 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3973 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3974 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3975 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3976 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3977 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3978 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3980 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3981 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3982 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3985 @node Topic Parameters
3986 @subsection Topic Parameters
3987 @cindex topic parameters
3989 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
3990 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
3991 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
3992 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
3993 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
3995 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
4000 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
4001 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4002 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4005 @item subscribe-level
4006 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4007 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4008 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4012 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4013 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4014 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4015 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4022 2: alt.religion.emacs
4026 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4028 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4029 13: comp.sources.unix
4034 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4035 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4036 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4037 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4038 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4039 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4041 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4042 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4043 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4044 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4045 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4047 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4048 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4049 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4050 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4051 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4052 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4053 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4054 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4057 @node Misc Group Stuff
4058 @section Misc Group Stuff
4061 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4062 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4063 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4064 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4065 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4072 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4073 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4074 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4078 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4079 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4080 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4081 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4082 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4083 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4084 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4088 @findex gnus-group-mail
4089 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4090 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4091 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4092 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4096 @findex gnus-group-news
4097 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4098 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4099 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4101 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4102 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4103 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4104 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4105 for this to work though.
4109 Variables for the group buffer:
4113 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4114 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4115 is called after the group buffer has been
4118 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4119 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4120 is called after the group buffer is
4121 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4124 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4125 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4126 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4127 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4129 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4130 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4131 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4132 whether they are empty or not.
4134 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4135 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4136 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4137 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4141 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4142 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4145 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4146 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4147 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4148 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4149 is used to show non-@acronym{ASCII} group names. @code{((".*"
4150 utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the
4151 default is @code{nil}.
4155 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4156 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4161 @node Scanning New Messages
4162 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4163 @cindex new messages
4164 @cindex scanning new news
4170 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4171 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4172 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4173 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4174 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4175 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4180 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4181 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4182 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4183 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4184 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4185 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4186 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4188 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4189 @cindex activating groups
4191 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4192 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4197 @findex gnus-group-restart
4198 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4199 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4200 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4204 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4205 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4207 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4208 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4212 @node Group Information
4213 @subsection Group Information
4214 @cindex group information
4215 @cindex information on groups
4222 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4223 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4226 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4227 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4228 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4229 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4230 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4231 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4232 used for fetching the file.
4234 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4235 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4239 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4240 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4242 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4243 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4246 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4247 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4248 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4252 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4253 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4254 @cindex control message
4255 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4256 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4257 group if given a prefix argument.
4259 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4260 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4261 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4262 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4264 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4265 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
4266 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
4270 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4272 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4273 @cindex describing groups
4274 @cindex group description
4275 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4276 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4277 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4281 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4282 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4283 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4290 @findex gnus-version
4291 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4295 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4296 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4299 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4302 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4303 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4307 @node Group Timestamp
4308 @subsection Group Timestamp
4310 @cindex group timestamps
4312 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4313 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4314 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4317 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4320 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4322 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4323 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4326 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4327 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4330 This will result in lines looking like:
4333 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4334 0: custom 19961002T012713
4337 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4338 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4342 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4343 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4346 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4347 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4351 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4352 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4353 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4354 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4356 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4362 @subsection File Commands
4363 @cindex file commands
4369 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4370 @vindex gnus-init-file
4371 @cindex reading init file
4372 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4373 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4377 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4378 @cindex saving .newsrc
4379 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4380 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4381 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4384 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4385 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4386 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4391 @node Sieve Commands
4392 @subsection Sieve Commands
4393 @cindex group sieve commands
4395 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4396 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4397 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4398 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4399 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4401 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4402 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4403 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4404 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4405 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4406 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4407 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4408 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4409 regenerate the Sieve script.
4411 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4412 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4413 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4414 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4415 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4416 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4417 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4418 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4419 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4420 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4423 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4424 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4429 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4435 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4436 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4437 @cindex generating sieve script
4438 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4439 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4443 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4444 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4445 @cindex updating sieve script
4446 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4447 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4448 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4453 @node Summary Buffer
4454 @chapter Summary Buffer
4455 @cindex summary buffer
4457 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4458 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4460 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4461 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4463 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4466 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4467 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4468 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4469 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4470 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4471 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4472 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4473 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4474 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4475 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4476 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4477 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4478 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4479 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4480 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4481 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4482 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4483 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4484 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4485 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4486 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4487 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4488 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4489 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4490 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4491 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4492 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4493 or reselecting the current group.
4494 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4495 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4496 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4497 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4501 @node Summary Buffer Format
4502 @section Summary Buffer Format
4503 @cindex summary buffer format
4507 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4508 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4509 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4515 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4516 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4517 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4518 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4521 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4522 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4523 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4524 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4525 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4526 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4527 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4528 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4529 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4530 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4531 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4534 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4535 'mail-extract-address-components)
4538 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4539 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4540 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4541 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4544 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4545 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4547 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4548 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4549 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4550 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4551 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4553 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4554 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4555 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4556 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4557 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4558 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4560 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4562 The following format specification characters and extended format
4563 specification(s) are understood:
4569 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4570 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4572 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4573 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4574 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4576 Full @code{From} header.
4578 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4580 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4583 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4584 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4585 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4586 may be more thorough.
4588 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4591 Number of lines in the article.
4593 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4594 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4596 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4597 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4599 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4601 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4602 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4615 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4616 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4617 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4618 line-drawing glyphs.
4620 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4621 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4622 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4623 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4625 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4626 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4627 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4628 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4630 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4631 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4632 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4633 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4635 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4636 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4637 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4639 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4640 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4641 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4643 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4644 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4645 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4647 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4648 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4649 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4654 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4655 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4657 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4658 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4660 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4661 for adopted articles.
4663 One space for each thread level.
4665 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4667 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4670 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4671 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4672 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4675 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4677 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4678 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4679 default level. If the difference between
4680 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4681 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4689 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4691 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4697 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4698 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4700 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4701 article has any children.
4707 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4708 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4710 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4711 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4712 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4713 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4714 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4715 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4718 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4719 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4720 There can only be one such area.
4722 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4723 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4724 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4725 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4726 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4727 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4729 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4730 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4732 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4735 @node To From Newsgroups
4736 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4740 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4741 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4742 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4743 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4744 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4748 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4749 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4750 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4754 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4755 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4758 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4759 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4762 @findex gnus-extra-header
4763 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4764 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4765 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4768 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4772 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4773 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4774 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4775 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4776 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4777 headers are used instead.
4779 To distinguish regular articles from those where the @code{From} field
4780 has been swapped, a string is prefixed to the @code{To} or
4781 @code{Newsgroups} header in the summary line. By default the string is
4782 @samp{-> } for @code{To} and @samp{=> } for @code{Newsgroups}, you can
4783 customize these strings with @code{gnus-summary-to-prefix} and
4784 @code{gnus-summary-newsgroup-prefix}.
4788 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4789 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4790 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
4791 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4792 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4793 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4796 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4797 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4798 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4799 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4801 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4805 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4807 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4808 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4809 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4810 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4814 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4817 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4818 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4821 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4822 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4823 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4829 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4830 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4833 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4834 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4836 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4837 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4838 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4839 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4841 Here are the elements you can play with:
4847 Unprefixed group name.
4849 Current article number.
4851 Current article score.
4855 Number of unread articles in this group.
4857 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4860 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4861 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4862 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4863 and no unselected ones.
4865 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4866 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4868 Subject of the current article.
4870 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4872 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4874 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4876 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4878 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4880 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4884 @node Summary Highlighting
4885 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4889 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4890 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4891 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4892 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4893 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4895 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4896 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4897 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4898 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4900 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4901 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4902 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4903 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4905 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4906 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4907 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4908 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4909 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4910 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4913 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4914 ((> score default) . bold))
4916 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4917 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4921 @node Summary Maneuvering
4922 @section Summary Maneuvering
4923 @cindex summary movement
4925 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4926 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4928 None of these commands select articles.
4933 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4934 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4935 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4936 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4937 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4941 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4942 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4943 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4944 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4945 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4948 @kindex G g (Summary)
4949 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4950 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4951 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4954 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4955 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4956 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4957 to the group buffer.
4959 Variables related to summary movement:
4963 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4964 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4965 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4966 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4967 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4968 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4969 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4970 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4971 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4972 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4973 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4974 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4975 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4976 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4978 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4979 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4980 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4981 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4982 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4983 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4984 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4986 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4988 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4989 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4990 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4991 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4992 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4994 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4995 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4996 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4997 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4998 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4999 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
5000 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
5001 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
5004 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
5005 the given number of lines from the top.
5010 @node Choosing Articles
5011 @section Choosing Articles
5012 @cindex selecting articles
5015 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5016 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5020 @node Choosing Commands
5021 @subsection Choosing Commands
5023 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5024 and they all select and display an article.
5026 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5027 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5031 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5032 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5033 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
5034 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5036 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
5037 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
5038 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5043 @kindex G n (Summary)
5044 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5045 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5046 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5051 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5052 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5053 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5058 @kindex G N (Summary)
5059 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5060 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5065 @kindex G P (Summary)
5066 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5067 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5070 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5071 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5072 Go to the next article with the same subject
5073 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5076 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5077 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5078 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5079 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5083 @kindex G f (Summary)
5085 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5086 Go to the first unread article
5087 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5091 @kindex G b (Summary)
5093 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5094 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5095 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5096 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5101 @kindex G l (Summary)
5102 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5103 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5106 @kindex G o (Summary)
5107 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5109 @cindex article history
5110 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5111 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5112 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5113 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5114 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5115 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5120 @kindex G j (Summary)
5121 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5122 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5123 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5128 @node Choosing Variables
5129 @subsection Choosing Variables
5131 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5134 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5135 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5136 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5137 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5138 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5139 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5141 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5142 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5143 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. The default is
5144 @code{nil}. If you would like each article to be saved in the Agent as
5145 you read it, putting @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this
5148 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5149 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5150 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5151 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5152 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5153 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5154 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5155 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5156 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-read-mark}. The only
5157 articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5158 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5159 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5160 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5161 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5166 @node Paging the Article
5167 @section Scrolling the Article
5168 @cindex article scrolling
5173 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5174 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5175 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5176 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5177 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5179 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5180 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5181 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5182 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5183 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5184 what is considered uninteresting with
5185 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5186 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5189 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5190 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5191 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5194 @kindex RET (Summary)
5195 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5196 Scroll the current article one line forward
5197 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5200 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5201 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5202 Scroll the current article one line backward
5203 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5207 @kindex A g (Summary)
5209 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5210 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5211 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5212 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5213 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5214 the way it came from the server.
5216 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5217 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5218 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5221 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5226 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5231 @kindex A < (Summary)
5232 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5233 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5234 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5239 @kindex A > (Summary)
5240 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5241 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5245 @kindex A s (Summary)
5247 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5248 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5249 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5253 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5254 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5259 @node Reply Followup and Post
5260 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5263 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5264 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5265 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5266 * Canceling and Superseding::
5270 @node Summary Mail Commands
5271 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5273 @cindex composing mail
5275 Commands for composing a mail message:
5281 @kindex S r (Summary)
5283 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5284 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5285 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5286 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5287 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5292 @kindex S R (Summary)
5293 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5294 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5295 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5296 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5297 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5300 @kindex S w (Summary)
5301 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5302 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5303 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5304 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5305 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5306 present, that's used instead.
5309 @kindex S W (Summary)
5310 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5311 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5312 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5313 the process/prefix convention.
5316 @kindex S v (Summary)
5317 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5318 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5319 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5320 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5321 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5322 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5325 @kindex S V (Summary)
5326 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5327 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5328 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5329 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5332 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5333 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5334 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5335 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5336 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5337 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5338 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5339 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5342 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5343 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5344 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5345 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5346 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5350 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5351 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5352 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5353 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5354 Forward the current article to some other person
5355 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5356 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5357 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5358 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5359 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5360 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5361 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5362 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5363 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
5369 @kindex S m (Summary)
5370 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5371 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5372 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5373 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5374 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5379 @kindex S i (Summary)
5380 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5381 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5382 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5383 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5385 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5386 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5387 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5388 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5389 for this to work though.
5392 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5393 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5394 @cindex bouncing mail
5395 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5396 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5397 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5398 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5399 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5400 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5401 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5402 very well fail, though.
5405 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5406 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5407 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5408 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5409 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5410 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5411 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5412 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5413 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5414 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5416 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5417 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5418 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5419 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5420 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5422 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5423 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5426 @kindex S D e (Summary)
5427 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
5429 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
5430 if it were a new message before resending.
5433 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5434 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5435 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5436 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5437 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5440 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5441 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5442 @cindex crossposting
5443 @cindex excessive crossposting
5444 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5445 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5447 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5448 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5449 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5450 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5451 command understands the process/prefix convention
5452 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5456 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5457 Manual}, for more information.
5460 @node Summary Post Commands
5461 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5463 @cindex composing news
5465 Commands for posting a news article:
5471 @kindex S p (Summary)
5472 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5473 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5474 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5475 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5476 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5481 @kindex S f (Summary)
5482 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5483 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5484 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5488 @kindex S F (Summary)
5490 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5491 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5492 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5493 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5494 process/prefix convention.
5497 @kindex S n (Summary)
5498 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5499 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5500 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5503 @kindex S N (Summary)
5504 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5505 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5506 message through mail and include the original message
5507 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5508 the process/prefix convention.
5511 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5512 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5513 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5514 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5515 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5516 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5517 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5518 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5519 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5520 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5521 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5522 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5523 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
5526 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5527 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5529 @cindex making digests
5530 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5531 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5532 process/prefix convention.
5535 @kindex S u (Summary)
5536 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5537 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5538 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5539 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5542 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5543 Manual}, for more information.
5546 @node Summary Message Commands
5547 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5551 @kindex S y (Summary)
5552 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5553 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5554 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5555 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5556 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5561 @node Canceling and Superseding
5562 @subsection Canceling Articles
5563 @cindex canceling articles
5564 @cindex superseding articles
5566 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5567 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5569 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5571 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5573 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5574 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5575 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5576 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5577 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5578 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5580 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5581 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5584 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5585 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5586 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5588 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
5589 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
5590 message, Message Manual}).
5592 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5593 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5594 your original article.
5596 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5598 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5599 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5600 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5603 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5604 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5605 have posted almost the same article twice.
5607 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5608 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5609 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5610 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5611 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5612 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5613 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5614 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5615 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5616 canceled/superseded.
5618 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5620 @node Delayed Articles
5621 @section Delayed Articles
5622 @cindex delayed sending
5623 @cindex send delayed
5625 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5626 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5627 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5628 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5631 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5634 @findex gnus-delay-article
5635 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5636 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5637 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5638 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5642 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5643 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5644 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5645 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5648 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5649 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5650 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5653 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5654 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5655 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5656 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5657 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5658 that means a time tomorrow.
5661 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5662 couple of variables:
5665 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5666 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5667 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5668 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5670 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5671 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5672 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5673 formats described above.
5675 @item gnus-delay-group
5676 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5677 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5678 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5679 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5681 @item gnus-delay-header
5682 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5683 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5684 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5685 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5688 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5689 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5690 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5691 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5692 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5694 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5695 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5696 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5697 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5698 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5699 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5700 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5703 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5704 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5705 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5706 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5707 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5708 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5709 argument is ignored.
5711 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5712 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5713 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5717 @node Marking Articles
5718 @section Marking Articles
5719 @cindex article marking
5720 @cindex article ticking
5723 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5725 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5726 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5727 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5729 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5732 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks.
5736 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5737 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5738 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5739 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5740 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5741 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5745 @node Unread Articles
5746 @subsection Unread Articles
5748 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5753 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5754 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5756 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5757 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5758 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5759 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5760 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5761 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5762 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5765 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5766 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5768 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5769 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5770 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5771 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5775 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5776 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5778 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5783 @subsection Read Articles
5784 @cindex expirable mark
5786 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5791 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5792 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5793 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5796 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5797 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5800 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5801 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5802 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5805 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5806 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5809 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5810 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5813 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5814 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5817 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5818 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5821 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5822 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5825 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5826 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5829 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5830 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5834 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5835 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5836 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5840 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5841 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5843 One more special mark, though:
5847 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5848 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5850 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5851 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5852 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5853 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5859 @subsection Other Marks
5860 @cindex process mark
5863 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5869 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5870 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5871 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5872 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5873 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5876 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5877 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5878 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5879 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5882 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5883 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5884 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5887 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5888 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5889 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5892 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5893 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5894 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5895 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5898 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5899 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5900 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5901 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5902 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5903 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5906 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5907 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5908 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5909 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5912 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5913 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
5914 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5915 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5916 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5920 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5921 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
5922 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5923 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5924 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5925 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5928 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5929 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
5930 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5931 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5932 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5933 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5937 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5938 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5939 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5940 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5941 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5944 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5945 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5946 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5947 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5948 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5949 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5953 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5954 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5955 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5957 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5958 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5959 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5963 @subsection Setting Marks
5964 @cindex setting marks
5966 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5971 @kindex M c (Summary)
5972 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5973 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5974 @cindex mark as unread
5975 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5976 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5982 @kindex M t (Summary)
5983 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5984 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5985 @xref{Article Caching}.
5990 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5991 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5992 Mark the current article as dormant
5993 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5997 @kindex M d (Summary)
5999 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
6000 Mark the current article as read
6001 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
6005 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
6006 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
6007 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
6012 @kindex M k (Summary)
6013 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
6014 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
6015 and then select the next unread article
6016 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
6020 @kindex M K (Summary)
6021 @kindex C-k (Summary)
6022 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
6023 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
6024 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6027 @kindex M C (Summary)
6028 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6029 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6030 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
6033 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
6034 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
6035 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
6036 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
6039 @kindex M H (Summary)
6040 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
6041 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
6042 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
6045 @kindex M h (Summary)
6046 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
6047 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
6048 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6051 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6052 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6053 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6054 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6057 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6058 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6059 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6060 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6064 @kindex M e (Summary)
6066 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6067 Mark the current article as expirable
6068 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6071 @kindex M b (Summary)
6072 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6073 Set a bookmark in the current article
6074 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6077 @kindex M B (Summary)
6078 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6079 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6080 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6083 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6084 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6085 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6086 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6089 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6090 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6091 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6092 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6095 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6096 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6097 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6098 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6099 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6102 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6103 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6104 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6105 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6106 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6107 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6108 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6109 The default is @code{t}.
6112 @node Generic Marking Commands
6113 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6115 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6116 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6117 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6118 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6119 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6122 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6123 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6126 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6127 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6128 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6129 to list in this manual.
6131 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6132 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6133 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6134 article, you could say something like:
6138 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6139 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6140 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6148 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6149 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6153 @node Setting Process Marks
6154 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6155 @cindex setting process marks
6157 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6158 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6159 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6160 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6161 commands into the cache. For more information,
6162 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6169 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6170 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6171 Mark the current article with the process mark
6172 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6173 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6177 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6178 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6179 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6180 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6183 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6184 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6185 Remove the process mark from all articles
6186 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6189 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6190 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6191 Invert the list of process marked articles
6192 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6195 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6196 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6197 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6198 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6201 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6202 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6203 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6204 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6207 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6208 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6209 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6212 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6213 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6214 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6217 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6218 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6219 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6220 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6223 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6224 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6225 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6226 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6229 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6230 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6231 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6232 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6235 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6236 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6237 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6240 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6241 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6242 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6243 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6246 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6247 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6248 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}).
6251 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6252 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6253 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6254 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6257 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6258 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6259 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6260 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6263 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6264 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6265 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6266 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6269 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6270 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6271 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6272 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6276 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6277 set process marks based on article body contents.
6284 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6285 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6286 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6289 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6290 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6291 additional articles.
6297 @kindex / / (Summary)
6298 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6299 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6300 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6304 @kindex / a (Summary)
6305 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6306 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6307 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6311 @kindex / R (Summary)
6312 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient
6313 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some recipient
6314 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient}). If given a prefix, exclude
6318 @kindex / x (Summary)
6319 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6320 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6321 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6322 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6327 @kindex / u (Summary)
6329 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6330 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6331 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6332 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6333 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6336 @kindex / m (Summary)
6337 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6338 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6339 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6342 @kindex / t (Summary)
6343 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6344 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6345 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6346 articles younger than that number of days.
6349 @kindex / n (Summary)
6350 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6351 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6352 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6353 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6356 @kindex / w (Summary)
6357 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6358 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6359 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6363 @kindex / . (Summary)
6364 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6365 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6366 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6369 @kindex / v (Summary)
6370 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6371 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6372 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6375 @kindex / p (Summary)
6376 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6377 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6378 group parameter predicate
6379 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6380 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6383 @kindex / r (Summary)
6384 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
6385 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
6386 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
6391 @kindex M S (Summary)
6392 @kindex / E (Summary)
6393 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6394 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6395 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6398 @kindex / D (Summary)
6399 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6400 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6401 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6404 @kindex / * (Summary)
6405 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6406 Include all cached articles in the limit
6407 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6410 @kindex / d (Summary)
6411 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6412 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6413 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6416 @kindex / M (Summary)
6417 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6418 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6421 @kindex / T (Summary)
6422 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6423 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6426 @kindex / c (Summary)
6427 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6428 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6429 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6432 @kindex / C (Summary)
6433 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6434 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6435 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6436 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6439 @kindex / N (Summary)
6440 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6441 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6442 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6445 @kindex / o (Summary)
6446 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6447 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6448 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6456 @cindex article threading
6458 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6459 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6460 hierarchical fashion.
6462 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6463 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6464 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6465 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6466 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6467 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6468 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6470 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6474 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6477 A tree-like article structure.
6480 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6483 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6484 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6485 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6486 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6487 called loose threads.
6489 @item thread gathering
6490 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6492 @item sparse threads
6493 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6494 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6500 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6501 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6505 @node Customizing Threading
6506 @subsection Customizing Threading
6507 @cindex customizing threading
6510 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6511 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6512 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6513 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6518 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6521 @cindex loose threads
6524 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6525 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6526 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6527 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6528 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6529 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6531 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6532 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6533 There are four possible values:
6537 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6538 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6539 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6540 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6541 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6546 @cindex adopting articles
6551 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6552 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6553 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6554 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6557 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6558 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6559 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6560 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6561 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6562 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6563 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6564 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6565 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6566 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6569 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6570 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6571 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6575 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6576 display them after one another.
6579 Don't gather loose threads.
6582 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6583 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6584 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6585 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6586 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6587 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6588 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6589 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6590 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6591 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6592 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6594 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6595 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6596 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6599 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6600 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6601 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6602 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6603 simplification is used.
6605 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6606 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6607 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6608 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6610 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6612 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6618 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6619 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6620 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6621 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6626 (mapconcat 'identity
6627 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6629 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6632 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6635 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6636 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6637 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6638 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6639 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6640 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6642 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6645 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6646 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6647 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6649 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6650 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6653 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6654 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6655 Remove excessive whitespace.
6657 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6658 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6659 Remove all whitespace.
6662 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6665 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6666 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6667 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6668 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6669 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6670 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6671 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6672 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6674 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6675 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6676 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6677 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6678 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6679 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6680 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6681 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6682 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6686 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6687 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6688 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6689 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6691 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6692 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6693 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6696 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6700 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6701 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6707 @node Filling In Threads
6708 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6711 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6712 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6713 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6714 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
6715 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
6716 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
6717 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
6718 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
6719 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
6720 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6721 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6722 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
6725 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6726 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6727 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6729 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6730 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6731 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
6734 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6735 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6736 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6737 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6738 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6739 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6740 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6741 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6742 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6743 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6744 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6745 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6746 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6747 @code{nil} by default.
6749 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6750 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6751 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6752 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6753 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6754 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6755 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6757 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6758 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6759 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6764 @node More Threading
6765 @subsubsection More Threading
6768 @item gnus-show-threads
6769 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6770 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6771 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6772 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6773 slower and more awkward.
6775 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6776 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6777 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6780 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6781 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6782 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
6787 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6788 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6789 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6792 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6793 unread, but you get my drift.)
6796 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6797 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6798 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6799 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6800 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6801 threads are expunged.
6803 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6804 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6805 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6808 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6809 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6810 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6811 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6812 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6813 result in a new thread.
6815 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6816 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6817 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6820 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6821 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6822 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6823 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6824 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6825 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6826 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6827 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6828 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6829 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6830 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6835 @node Low-Level Threading
6836 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6840 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6841 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6842 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6844 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6845 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6846 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6847 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6848 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6849 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6850 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6851 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6852 meaningful. Here's one example:
6855 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6857 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6858 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6860 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6862 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6869 @node Thread Commands
6870 @subsection Thread Commands
6871 @cindex thread commands
6877 @kindex T k (Summary)
6878 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6879 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6880 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6881 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6882 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6887 @kindex T l (Summary)
6888 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6889 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6890 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6891 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6894 @kindex T i (Summary)
6895 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6896 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6897 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6900 @kindex T # (Summary)
6901 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6902 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6903 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6906 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6907 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6908 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6909 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6912 @kindex T T (Summary)
6913 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6914 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6917 @kindex T s (Summary)
6918 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6919 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
6920 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6923 @kindex T h (Summary)
6924 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6925 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6928 @kindex T S (Summary)
6929 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6930 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6933 @kindex T H (Summary)
6934 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6935 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6938 @kindex T t (Summary)
6939 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6940 Re-thread the current article's thread
6941 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6942 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6945 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6946 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6947 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6948 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6952 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6953 understand the numeric prefix.
6958 @kindex T n (Summary)
6960 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6962 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6963 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6964 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6967 @kindex T p (Summary)
6969 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6971 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6972 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6973 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6976 @kindex T d (Summary)
6977 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6978 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6981 @kindex T u (Summary)
6982 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6983 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6986 @kindex T o (Summary)
6987 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6988 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6991 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6992 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6993 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6994 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6995 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6996 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6997 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6998 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6999 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
7000 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
7001 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
7002 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
7006 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
7007 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
7009 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
7010 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
7011 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
7012 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7013 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
7014 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient
7015 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7016 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
7017 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
7018 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
7019 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
7020 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
7021 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
7022 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
7023 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
7025 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
7026 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
7027 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient},
7028 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date},
7029 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
7030 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
7031 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
7032 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
7033 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
7035 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
7036 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
7037 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
7039 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
7040 last function in the list. You should probably always include
7041 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
7042 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
7043 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
7044 ascending article order.
7046 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
7047 by number, you could do something like:
7050 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7051 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7052 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7053 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
7056 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
7057 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
7058 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
7059 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
7060 which the articles arrived.
7062 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7066 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7068 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
7069 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7072 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7073 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7074 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7075 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7078 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7079 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7080 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7081 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7082 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7083 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7084 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7085 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7086 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7087 variable. It is very similar to the
7088 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7089 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7090 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7091 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7092 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7093 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7094 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7096 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7100 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7101 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7102 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7107 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7108 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7109 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7110 @cindex article pre-fetch
7113 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7114 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7115 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7116 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7117 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7119 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7120 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
7122 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7123 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7124 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7125 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7126 connection is blocked.
7128 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7129 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7130 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7131 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
7133 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7134 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7135 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7136 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7139 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7142 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7143 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7144 happen automatically.
7146 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7147 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7148 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7149 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7150 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7151 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7152 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7154 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7155 @findex gnus-async-read-p
7156 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7157 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7158 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7159 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7160 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7161 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7162 article data structure as the only parameter.
7164 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7165 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7168 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7169 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7170 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7171 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7174 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7177 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7178 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
7179 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7181 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7182 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7183 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7184 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7188 Remove articles when they are read.
7191 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7194 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7196 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7197 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7198 @c from the next group.
7201 @node Article Caching
7202 @section Article Caching
7203 @cindex article caching
7206 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7207 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7208 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7209 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7210 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7212 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7214 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7215 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7216 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7217 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7218 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7219 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7220 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7221 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7223 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7224 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7225 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7226 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7227 as dormant, and don't worry.
7229 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7231 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7232 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7233 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7234 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7235 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7236 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7237 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7238 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7239 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7240 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7242 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7243 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7244 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7245 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7246 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7247 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7248 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7249 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7250 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7251 not then be downloaded by this command.
7253 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7254 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7255 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7256 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7257 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7258 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7260 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7261 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7262 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7263 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7264 variables, the group is not cached.
7266 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7267 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7268 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7269 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7270 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7271 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7272 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7273 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7274 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7277 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7278 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7279 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7280 where, isn't that cool?
7282 @node Persistent Articles
7283 @section Persistent Articles
7284 @cindex persistent articles
7286 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7287 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7288 useful in my opinion.
7290 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7291 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7292 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7293 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7294 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7295 the expiry going on at the news server.
7297 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7298 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7299 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7305 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7306 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7309 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7310 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7311 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7312 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7316 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7318 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7319 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7320 interested in persistent articles:
7323 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7327 @node Article Backlog
7328 @section Article Backlog
7330 @cindex article backlog
7332 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7333 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7334 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7335 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7336 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7337 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7338 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7339 increase memory usage some.
7341 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7342 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7343 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7344 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7345 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7346 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7347 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7349 The default value is 20.
7352 @node Saving Articles
7353 @section Saving Articles
7354 @cindex saving articles
7356 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7357 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7358 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7359 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7360 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7362 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7363 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7364 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7366 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7367 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7368 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7370 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7371 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7372 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7373 deleted before saving.
7379 @kindex O o (Summary)
7381 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7382 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7383 Save the current article using the default article saver
7384 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7387 @kindex O m (Summary)
7388 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7389 Save the current article in mail format
7390 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7393 @kindex O r (Summary)
7394 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7395 Save the current article in Rmail format
7396 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7399 @kindex O f (Summary)
7400 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7401 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7402 Save the current article in plain file format
7403 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7406 @kindex O F (Summary)
7407 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7408 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7409 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7412 @kindex O b (Summary)
7413 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7414 Save the current article body in plain file format
7415 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7418 @kindex O h (Summary)
7419 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7420 Save the current article in mh folder format
7421 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7424 @kindex O v (Summary)
7425 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7426 Save the current article in a VM folder
7427 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7431 @kindex O p (Summary)
7433 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7434 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7435 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7436 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7437 complete headers in the piped output.
7440 @kindex O P (Summary)
7441 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7442 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7443 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7444 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7445 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7446 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7447 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7451 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7452 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7453 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7454 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7455 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7456 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7457 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7458 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7459 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7460 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7461 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7462 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7466 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7467 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7468 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7469 functions below, or you can create your own.
7473 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7474 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7475 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7476 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7477 This is the default format, @dfn{Babyl}. Uses the function in the
7478 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7479 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7481 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7482 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7483 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7484 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7485 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7486 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7488 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7489 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7490 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7491 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7492 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7493 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7494 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7496 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7497 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7498 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7499 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7500 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7501 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7503 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7504 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7505 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7506 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7507 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7509 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7510 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7511 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7512 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7513 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7516 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7517 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7518 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7519 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7520 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7522 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7523 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7524 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7525 reader to use this setting.
7528 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7529 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7530 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7531 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7534 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7535 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7536 available functions that generate names:
7540 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7541 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7542 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7544 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7545 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7546 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7548 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7549 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7550 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7552 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7553 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7554 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7556 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7557 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7558 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7561 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7562 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7563 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7564 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7565 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7569 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7570 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7571 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7572 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7575 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7576 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7577 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7578 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7579 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7580 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7581 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7582 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7583 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7585 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7586 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7587 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7588 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7590 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7591 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7592 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7595 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7596 lots of mail groups called things like
7597 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7598 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7599 following will do just that:
7602 (defun my-save-name (group)
7603 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7604 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7606 (setq gnus-split-methods
7607 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7612 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7613 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7614 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7615 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7616 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7617 all the files in the top level directory
7618 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7619 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7620 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7621 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7623 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7624 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7625 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7626 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7627 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7630 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7634 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
7635 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7636 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
7639 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7640 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7641 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7642 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7645 @node Decoding Articles
7646 @section Decoding Articles
7647 @cindex decoding articles
7649 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7650 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7653 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7654 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7655 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7656 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7657 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7658 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7662 @cindex article series
7663 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7664 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7665 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7666 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7667 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7669 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7670 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7671 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7673 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7674 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7675 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7677 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7678 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7679 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7682 @node Uuencoded Articles