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10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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266 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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275 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99,2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
278 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
279 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
280 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
281 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
282 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
283 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
286 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
287 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
288 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
296 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
298 Copyright (C) 1995,96,97,98,99,2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
300 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
301 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
302 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
303 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
304 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
305 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
308 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
309 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
310 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
318 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
321 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
322 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99,2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
324 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
325 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
326 are preserved on all copies.
328 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
329 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
330 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
331 permission notice identical to this one.
333 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
334 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
343 @top The Gnus Newsreader
347 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
348 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
349 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
352 This manual corresponds to Gnus 5.8.7.
363 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
364 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
366 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
367 being accused of plagiarism:
369 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
370 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
371 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
372 can even read news with it!
374 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
375 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
376 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
377 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
378 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
384 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
385 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
386 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
387 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
388 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
389 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
390 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
391 * Various:: General purpose settings.
392 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
393 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
394 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
395 * Key Index:: Key Index.
398 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
402 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
403 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
404 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
405 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
406 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
407 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
408 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
409 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
410 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
411 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
412 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
416 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
417 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
418 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
422 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
423 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
424 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
425 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
426 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
427 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
428 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
429 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
430 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
431 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
432 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
433 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
434 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
435 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
436 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
437 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
438 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
442 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
443 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
444 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
448 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
449 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
450 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
451 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
452 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
456 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
457 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
458 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
459 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
463 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
464 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
465 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
466 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
467 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
468 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
469 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
470 * Threading:: How threads are made.
471 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
472 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
473 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
474 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
475 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
476 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
477 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
478 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
479 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
480 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
481 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
482 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
483 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
484 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
485 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
486 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
487 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
488 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
489 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
490 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
492 Summary Buffer Format
494 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
495 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
496 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
497 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
501 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
502 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
504 Reply, Followup and Post
506 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
507 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
508 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
509 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
513 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
514 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
515 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
516 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
517 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
518 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
522 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
523 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
525 Customizing Threading
527 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
528 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
529 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
530 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
534 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
535 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
536 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
537 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
538 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
539 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
543 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
544 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
545 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
549 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
550 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
551 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
552 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
553 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
554 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
555 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
556 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
558 Alternative Approaches
560 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
561 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
563 Various Summary Stuff
565 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
566 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
567 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
568 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
572 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
573 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
574 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
575 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
576 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
580 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
581 * Post:: Posting and following up.
582 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
583 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
584 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
585 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
586 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
587 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
591 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
592 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
593 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
594 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
595 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
596 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
597 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
601 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
602 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
603 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
604 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
605 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
606 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
607 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
611 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
612 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
616 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
617 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
618 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
619 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
620 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
621 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
622 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
623 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
624 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
625 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
626 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
627 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
628 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
632 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
633 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
634 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
636 Choosing a Mail Backend
638 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
639 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
640 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
641 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
642 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
643 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
647 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
648 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
649 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
650 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
654 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
655 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
656 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
657 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
658 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
659 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
663 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
667 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
668 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
669 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
673 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
674 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
675 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
679 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
680 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
684 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
685 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
686 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
687 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
688 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
689 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
690 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
691 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
692 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
696 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
697 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
698 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
702 * Group Agent Commands::
703 * Summary Agent Commands::
704 * Server Agent Commands::
708 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
709 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
710 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
711 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
712 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
713 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
714 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
715 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
716 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
717 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
718 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
719 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
720 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
721 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
722 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
726 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
727 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
728 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
729 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
733 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
734 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
735 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
739 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
740 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
741 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
742 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
743 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
744 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
745 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
746 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
747 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
748 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
749 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
750 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
751 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
752 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
753 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
754 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
755 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
756 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
760 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
761 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
762 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
763 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
764 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
768 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
769 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
770 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
771 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
775 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
776 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
777 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
778 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
779 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
783 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
784 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
785 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
786 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
787 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
788 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
789 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
790 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
794 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
795 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
796 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
797 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
798 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
799 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
800 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
801 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
802 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
803 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
807 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
808 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
809 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
810 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
814 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
815 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
816 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
817 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
821 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
822 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
823 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
824 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
825 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
826 * Group Info:: The group info format.
827 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
828 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
829 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
833 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
834 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
835 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
836 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
837 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
838 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
842 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
843 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
847 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
848 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
854 @chapter Starting Gnus
859 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
860 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
863 @findex gnus-other-frame
864 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
865 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
866 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
868 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
869 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
870 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
872 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
873 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
876 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
877 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
878 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
879 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
880 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
881 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
882 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
883 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
884 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
885 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
886 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
890 @node Finding the News
891 @section Finding the News
894 @vindex gnus-select-method
896 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
897 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
898 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
899 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
902 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
903 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
906 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
909 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
912 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
915 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
916 certainly be much faster.
918 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
920 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
921 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
922 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
923 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
924 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
925 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
927 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
928 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
929 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
930 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
932 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
933 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
934 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
935 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
936 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
937 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
938 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
939 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
940 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
943 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
945 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
946 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
947 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
948 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
949 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
950 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
952 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
954 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
955 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
956 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
957 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
958 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
959 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
962 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
963 would typically set this variable to
966 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
971 @section The First Time
972 @cindex first time usage
974 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
975 be subscribed by default.
977 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
978 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
979 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
980 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
983 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
984 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
985 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
987 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
988 help you with most common problems.
990 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
991 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
995 @node The Server is Down
996 @section The Server is Down
997 @cindex server errors
999 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1000 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1001 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1003 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1004 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1005 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1006 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1007 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1008 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1009 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1011 @findex gnus-no-server
1012 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1014 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1015 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1016 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1017 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1018 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1019 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1024 @section Slave Gnusae
1027 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1028 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1029 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1030 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1032 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1033 @code{.newsrc} file.
1035 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1036 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1037 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1038 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1039 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1040 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1041 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1043 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1044 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1045 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1046 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1047 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1048 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1049 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1050 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1052 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1053 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1056 @node Fetching a Group
1057 @section Fetching a Group
1058 @cindex fetching a group
1060 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1061 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1062 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1063 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1064 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1065 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1071 @cindex subscription
1073 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1074 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1075 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1076 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1077 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1078 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1079 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1080 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
1081 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1084 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1085 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1086 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1090 @node Checking New Groups
1091 @subsection Checking New Groups
1093 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1094 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1095 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1096 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1097 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1098 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1099 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1100 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1101 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1102 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1104 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1105 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1106 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1107 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1108 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1109 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1110 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1111 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1112 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1113 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1114 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1116 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1117 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1118 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1119 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1120 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1121 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1124 @node Subscription Methods
1125 @subsection Subscription Methods
1127 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1128 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1129 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1131 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1132 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1134 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1138 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1139 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1140 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1141 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1142 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1144 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1145 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1146 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1147 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1149 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1150 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1151 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1153 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1154 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1155 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1156 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1157 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1158 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1159 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1160 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1161 up. Or something like that.
1163 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1164 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1165 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1166 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1167 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1169 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1170 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1171 Kill all new groups.
1173 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1174 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1175 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1176 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1177 topic parameter that looks like
1183 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1186 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1191 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1192 A closely related variable is
1193 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1194 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1195 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1196 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1199 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1200 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1201 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1202 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1205 @node Filtering New Groups
1206 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1208 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1209 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1210 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1213 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1216 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1217 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1218 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1219 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1220 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1221 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1222 subscribing these groups.
1223 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1224 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1226 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1227 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1228 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1229 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1230 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1231 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1232 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1233 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1235 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1236 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1237 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1238 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1239 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1240 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1241 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1242 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1243 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1244 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1246 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1247 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1250 @node Changing Servers
1251 @section Changing Servers
1252 @cindex changing servers
1254 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1255 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1256 very flaky and you want to use another.
1258 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1259 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1263 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1264 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1265 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1266 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1269 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1270 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1271 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1272 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1274 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1275 @findex gnus-change-server
1276 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1277 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1278 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1279 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1280 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1282 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1283 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1284 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1285 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1286 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1288 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1289 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1290 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1291 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1292 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1293 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1295 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1296 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1297 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1301 @section Startup Files
1302 @cindex startup files
1307 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1308 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1310 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1311 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1312 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1313 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1314 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1315 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1316 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1318 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1319 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1320 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1321 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1322 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1323 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1325 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1326 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1327 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1328 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1329 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1330 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1331 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1332 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1333 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1334 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1336 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1337 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1338 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1339 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1340 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1341 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1342 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1343 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1344 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1345 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1346 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1347 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1349 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1350 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1351 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1352 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1354 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1355 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1356 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1357 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1358 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1359 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1360 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1361 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1362 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1363 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1366 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1367 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1369 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1370 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1373 @vindex gnus-init-file
1374 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1375 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1376 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1377 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1378 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1379 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1380 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1381 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1382 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1388 @cindex dribble file
1391 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1392 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1393 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1394 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1395 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1398 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1399 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1402 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1403 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1404 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1406 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1407 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1408 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1409 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1410 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1411 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1413 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1414 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1415 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1418 @node The Active File
1419 @section The Active File
1421 @cindex ignored groups
1423 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1424 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1425 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1427 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1428 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1429 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1430 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1431 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1432 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1433 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1436 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1437 @c if you set it to anything else.
1439 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1441 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1442 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1443 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1445 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1446 you actually subscribe to.
1448 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1449 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1450 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1451 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1453 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1454 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1455 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1456 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1457 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1458 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1460 Some news servers (Leafnode and old versions of INN, for instance) do
1461 not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these servers, @code{nil}
1462 is probably the most efficient value for this variable.
1464 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1465 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1466 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1467 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1468 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1469 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1471 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1472 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1474 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1475 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1477 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1478 secondary select methods.
1481 @node Startup Variables
1482 @section Startup Variables
1486 @item gnus-load-hook
1487 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1488 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1489 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1490 times you start Gnus.
1492 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1493 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1494 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1496 @item gnus-startup-hook
1497 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1498 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1500 @item gnus-started-hook
1501 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1502 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1505 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1506 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1507 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1508 generating the group buffer.
1510 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1511 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1512 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1513 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1514 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1515 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1516 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1517 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1519 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1520 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1521 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1522 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1523 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1524 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1526 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1527 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1528 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1530 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1531 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1532 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1534 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1535 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1536 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1537 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1542 @node The Group Buffer
1543 @chapter The Group Buffer
1544 @cindex group buffer
1546 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1547 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1548 long as Gnus is active.
1552 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1553 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1554 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1555 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1556 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1557 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1558 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1559 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1565 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1566 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1567 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1568 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1569 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1570 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1571 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1572 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1573 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1574 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1575 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1576 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1577 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1578 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1579 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1580 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1581 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1585 @node Group Buffer Format
1586 @section Group Buffer Format
1589 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1590 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1591 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1595 @node Group Line Specification
1596 @subsection Group Line Specification
1597 @cindex group buffer format
1599 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1600 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1602 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1605 25: news.announce.newusers
1606 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1611 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1612 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1613 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1614 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1616 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1617 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1618 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1619 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1620 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1621 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1623 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1625 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1626 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1627 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1628 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1631 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1632 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1633 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1635 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1640 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1643 Whether the group is subscribed.
1646 Level of subscribedness.
1649 Number of unread articles.
1652 Number of dormant articles.
1655 Number of ticked articles.
1658 Number of read articles.
1661 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1662 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1665 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1668 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1677 Newsgroup description.
1680 @samp{m} if moderated.
1683 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1692 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1696 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1699 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1700 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1701 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1702 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1703 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1706 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1708 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1712 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1716 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1717 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1718 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1719 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1720 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1721 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1726 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1727 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1728 group, or a bogus native group.
1731 @node Group Modeline Specification
1732 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1733 @cindex group modeline
1735 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1736 The mode line can be changed by setting
1737 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1738 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1742 The native news server.
1744 The native select method.
1748 @node Group Highlighting
1749 @subsection Group Highlighting
1750 @cindex highlighting
1751 @cindex group highlighting
1753 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1754 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1755 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1756 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1757 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1759 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1763 (cond (window-system
1764 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1765 (defface my-group-face-1
1766 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1767 (defface my-group-face-2
1768 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1769 (defface my-group-face-3
1770 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1771 (defface my-group-face-4
1772 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1773 (defface my-group-face-5
1774 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1776 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1777 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1778 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1779 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1780 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1781 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1784 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1786 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1793 The number of unread articles in the group.
1797 Whether the group is a mail group.
1799 The level of the group.
1801 The score of the group.
1803 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1805 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1806 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1808 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1809 topic being inserted.
1812 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1813 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1814 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1816 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1817 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1818 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1819 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1820 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1823 @node Group Maneuvering
1824 @section Group Maneuvering
1825 @cindex group movement
1827 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1828 expected, hopefully.
1834 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1835 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1836 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1842 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1843 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1844 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1848 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1849 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1853 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1854 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1858 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1859 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1860 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1864 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1865 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1866 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1869 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1875 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1876 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1877 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1882 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1883 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1884 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1888 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1889 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1890 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1893 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1894 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1895 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1896 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1900 @node Selecting a Group
1901 @section Selecting a Group
1902 @cindex group selection
1907 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1908 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1909 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1910 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1911 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1912 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1913 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1914 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1915 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1916 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
1920 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1921 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1922 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1923 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1924 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1928 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1929 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1930 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1931 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1932 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1933 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1934 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1935 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1936 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1937 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1940 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1941 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1942 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1943 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1944 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1947 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1948 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1949 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1950 doing any processing of its contents
1951 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1952 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1953 manner will have no permanent effects.
1957 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1958 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1959 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1960 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1961 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1962 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1963 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1964 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1967 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1968 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1969 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1970 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1975 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1976 full summary buffer.
1979 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1982 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
1987 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
1988 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
1989 Useful functions include:
1992 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
1993 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
1994 don't select the article.
1996 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
1997 Select the first unread article.
1999 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2000 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2004 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2005 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2006 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2010 @node Subscription Commands
2011 @section Subscription Commands
2012 @cindex subscription
2020 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2021 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2022 Toggle subscription to the current group
2023 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2029 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2030 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2031 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2032 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2038 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2039 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2040 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2046 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2047 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2050 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2051 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2052 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2053 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2054 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2060 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2061 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2065 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2066 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2069 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2070 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2071 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2072 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2073 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2074 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2075 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2076 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2077 @file{.newsrc} file.
2081 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2091 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2092 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2093 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2094 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2095 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2096 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2101 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2102 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2103 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2107 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2108 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2109 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2111 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2112 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2113 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2114 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2115 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2116 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2123 @section Group Levels
2127 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2128 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2129 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2130 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2131 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2133 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2139 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2140 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2141 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2142 prompted for a level.
2145 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2146 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2147 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2148 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2149 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2150 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2151 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2152 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2153 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2154 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2155 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2156 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2157 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2158 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2159 reasons of efficiency.
2161 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2162 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2164 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2165 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2166 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2168 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2169 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2170 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2171 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2172 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2173 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2174 relevant valid ranges.
2176 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2177 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2178 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2179 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2180 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2181 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2184 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2185 one with the best level.
2187 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2188 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2189 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2192 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2193 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2194 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2195 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2198 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2199 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2200 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2201 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2203 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2204 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2205 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2206 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2207 to 5. The default is 6.
2211 @section Group Score
2216 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2217 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2218 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2221 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2222 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2223 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2224 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2225 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2226 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2227 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2228 least significant part.))
2230 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2231 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2232 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2233 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2234 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2235 action after each summary exit, you can add
2236 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2237 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2238 slow things down somewhat.
2241 @node Marking Groups
2242 @section Marking Groups
2243 @cindex marking groups
2245 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2246 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2247 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2248 bidding on those groups.
2250 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2251 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2252 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2260 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2261 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2267 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2268 Remove the mark from the current group
2269 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2273 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2274 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2278 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2279 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2283 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2284 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2288 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2289 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2290 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2293 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2295 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2296 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2297 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2298 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2299 the command to be executed.
2302 @node Foreign Groups
2303 @section Foreign Groups
2304 @cindex foreign groups
2306 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2307 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2308 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2309 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2316 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2317 @cindex making groups
2318 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2319 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2320 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2324 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2325 @cindex renaming groups
2326 Rename the current group to something else
2327 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2328 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2334 @findex gnus-group-customize
2335 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2339 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2340 @cindex renaming groups
2341 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2342 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2346 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2347 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2348 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2352 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2353 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2354 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2358 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2360 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2361 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2366 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2367 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2371 @cindex (ding) archive
2372 @cindex archive group
2373 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2374 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2375 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2376 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2377 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2378 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2379 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2383 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2385 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2386 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2387 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2388 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2392 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2394 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2395 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2396 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2400 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2401 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2403 Make a group based on some file or other
2404 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2405 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2406 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
2407 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
2408 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
2409 If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2410 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2414 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2415 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2416 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2417 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2421 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2426 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2427 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2428 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2429 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2430 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2431 @xref{Web Searches}.
2433 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2434 to a particular group by using a match string like
2435 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2438 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2439 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2440 This function will delete the current group
2441 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2442 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2443 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2444 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2445 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2449 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2450 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2451 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2455 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2456 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2457 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2460 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2463 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2464 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2465 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2466 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2467 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2468 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2472 @node Group Parameters
2473 @section Group Parameters
2474 @cindex group parameters
2476 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2477 Here's an example group parameter list:
2480 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2484 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2485 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2486 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2487 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2489 The following group parameters can be used:
2494 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2497 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2500 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2501 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2502 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2503 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2504 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2506 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2507 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2508 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2509 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2510 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2511 list address instead.
2515 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2518 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2521 It is totally ignored
2522 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2523 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2525 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2526 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2527 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2528 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2529 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2531 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2532 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2533 sending the message.
2537 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2538 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2539 of whether it has any unread articles.
2541 @item broken-reply-to
2542 @cindex broken-reply-to
2543 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2544 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2545 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2546 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2547 broken behavior. So there!
2551 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2552 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2556 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2557 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2558 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2563 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2564 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2565 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2566 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2567 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2568 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2569 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2573 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2574 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2575 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2578 @cindex total-expire
2579 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2580 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2581 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2582 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2587 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2588 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2589 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2590 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2591 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2592 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2595 @cindex score file group parameter
2596 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2597 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2598 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2601 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2602 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2603 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2604 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2607 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2608 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2609 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2610 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2613 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2614 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2618 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2621 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2626 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2627 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2628 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2632 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2633 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2634 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2636 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2637 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2638 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2639 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2640 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2641 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2642 @code{eval}ed there.
2644 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2645 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2646 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2647 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2648 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2651 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2652 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2653 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2654 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2655 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2657 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2658 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2659 like this in the group parameters:
2664 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2669 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2670 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2674 @node Listing Groups
2675 @section Listing Groups
2676 @cindex group listing
2678 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2686 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2687 List all groups that have unread articles
2688 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2689 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2690 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2691 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2698 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2699 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2700 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2701 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2702 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2703 unsubscribed groups).
2707 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2708 List all unread groups on a specific level
2709 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2710 with no unread articles.
2714 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2715 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2716 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2717 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2722 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2723 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2727 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2728 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2729 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2733 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2734 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2738 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2739 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2740 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2741 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2742 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2743 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2744 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2745 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2749 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2750 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2751 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2755 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2756 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2757 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2761 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
2762 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
2766 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
2767 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
2771 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2772 @cindex visible group parameter
2773 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2774 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2775 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2776 get the same effect.
2778 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2779 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2780 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2781 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2782 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2785 @node Sorting Groups
2786 @section Sorting Groups
2787 @cindex sorting groups
2789 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2790 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2791 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2792 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2793 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2794 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2799 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2800 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2801 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2803 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2804 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2805 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2807 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2808 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2809 Sort by group level.
2811 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2812 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2813 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2815 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2816 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2817 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2818 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2820 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2821 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2822 Sort by number of unread articles.
2824 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2825 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2826 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2831 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2832 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2836 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2837 some sorting criteria:
2841 @kindex G S a (Group)
2842 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2843 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2844 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2847 @kindex G S u (Group)
2848 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2849 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2850 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2853 @kindex G S l (Group)
2854 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2855 Sort the group buffer by group level
2856 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2859 @kindex G S v (Group)
2860 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2861 Sort the group buffer by group score
2862 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2865 @kindex G S r (Group)
2866 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2867 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2868 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2871 @kindex G S m (Group)
2872 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2873 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2874 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2878 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
2879 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2881 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2882 commands will sort in reverse order.
2884 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2888 @kindex G P a (Group)
2889 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2890 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
2891 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2894 @kindex G P u (Group)
2895 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2896 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
2897 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2900 @kindex G P l (Group)
2901 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2902 Sort the groups by group level
2903 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2906 @kindex G P v (Group)
2907 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2908 Sort the groups by group score
2909 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2912 @kindex G P r (Group)
2913 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2914 Sort the groups by group rank
2915 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2918 @kindex G P m (Group)
2919 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2920 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
2921 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2927 @node Group Maintenance
2928 @section Group Maintenance
2929 @cindex bogus groups
2934 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2935 Find bogus groups and delete them
2936 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2940 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2941 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2942 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2943 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
2944 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
2948 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2949 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2950 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2951 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2954 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2955 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2956 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2957 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2962 @node Browse Foreign Server
2963 @section Browse Foreign Server
2964 @cindex foreign servers
2965 @cindex browsing servers
2970 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2971 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2972 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2973 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2976 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2977 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2978 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2979 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2981 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2986 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2987 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2991 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2992 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2995 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2996 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2997 Enter the current group and display the first article
2998 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3001 @kindex RET (Browse)
3002 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3003 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3007 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3008 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3009 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3015 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3016 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3020 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3021 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3022 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3027 @section Exiting Gnus
3028 @cindex exiting Gnus
3030 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3035 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3036 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3037 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3038 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3042 @findex gnus-group-exit
3043 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3044 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3048 @findex gnus-group-quit
3049 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3050 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3053 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3054 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3055 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3056 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3057 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3062 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3063 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3064 trying to customize meta-variables.
3069 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3070 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3071 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3077 @section Group Topics
3080 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3081 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3082 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3083 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3084 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3085 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3089 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3090 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
3101 2: alt.religion.emacs
3104 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3106 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3107 13: comp.sources.unix
3110 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3112 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3113 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3114 is a toggling command.)
3116 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3117 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
3118 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3119 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3122 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3123 the hook for the group mode:
3126 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3130 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3131 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3132 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3133 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3134 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3138 @node Topic Variables
3139 @subsection Topic Variables
3140 @cindex topic variables
3142 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
3143 really neat, I think.
3145 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3146 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3147 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3160 Number of groups in the topic.
3162 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3164 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3167 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3168 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3169 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3172 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3173 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3175 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3176 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3177 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3180 @node Topic Commands
3181 @subsection Topic Commands
3182 @cindex topic commands
3184 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3185 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3186 definitions slightly.
3192 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3193 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3194 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3198 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3199 Move the current group to some other topic
3200 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3201 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3205 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3206 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3210 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3211 Copy the current group to some other topic
3212 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3213 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3217 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3218 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3219 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3223 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3224 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3225 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3229 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3230 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3231 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3232 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3233 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3234 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3235 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3238 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3239 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3243 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3244 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3245 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3249 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3250 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3251 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3255 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3256 Toggle hiding empty topics
3257 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3261 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3262 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3263 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3266 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3267 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3268 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3269 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3273 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3275 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3276 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3277 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3278 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3281 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3282 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3283 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3284 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3288 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3290 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3291 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3292 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3293 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3294 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3295 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3298 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3299 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3300 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the expiry
3301 process (if any) (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}).
3305 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3306 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3307 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3311 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3312 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3313 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3318 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3319 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3322 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3323 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3324 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3328 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3329 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3330 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3334 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3335 @cindex group parameters
3336 @cindex topic parameters
3338 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3339 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3345 @subsection Topic Sorting
3346 @cindex topic sorting
3348 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3354 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3355 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3356 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3357 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3360 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3361 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3362 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3363 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3366 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3367 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3368 Sort the current topic by group level
3369 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3372 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3373 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3374 Sort the current topic by group score
3375 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3378 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3379 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3380 Sort the current topic by group rank
3381 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3384 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3385 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3386 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
3387 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3391 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3394 @node Topic Topology
3395 @subsection Topic Topology
3396 @cindex topic topology
3399 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3405 2: alt.religion.emacs
3408 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3410 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3411 13: comp.sources.unix
3414 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3415 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3416 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3421 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3422 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3426 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3427 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3428 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3429 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3430 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3431 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3433 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3434 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3435 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3438 @node Topic Parameters
3439 @subsection Topic Parameters
3440 @cindex topic parameters
3442 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3443 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3444 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3446 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3451 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3452 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3453 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3458 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3459 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3460 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3461 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3467 2: alt.religion.emacs
3471 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3473 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3474 13: comp.sources.unix
3478 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3479 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3480 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3481 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3482 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3483 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3485 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3486 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3487 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3488 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3489 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3491 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3492 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3493 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3494 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3495 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3496 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3497 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3498 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3501 @node Misc Group Stuff
3502 @section Misc Group Stuff
3505 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3506 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3507 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3508 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3515 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3516 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3517 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
3521 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3522 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3523 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3527 @findex gnus-group-mail
3528 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3532 Variables for the group buffer:
3536 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3537 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3538 is called after the group buffer has been
3541 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3542 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3543 is called after the group buffer is
3544 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3547 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3548 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3549 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3550 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3552 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3553 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3554 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3555 whether they are empty or not.
3557 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3558 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3559 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3560 non-ASCII group names.
3564 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3565 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3568 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3569 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3570 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
3571 It is used to show non-ASCII group names.
3575 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3576 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3581 @node Scanning New Messages
3582 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3583 @cindex new messages
3584 @cindex scanning new news
3590 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3591 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3592 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3593 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3594 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3595 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3600 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3601 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3602 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3603 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3604 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3605 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3606 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3608 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3609 @cindex activating groups
3611 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3612 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3617 @findex gnus-group-restart
3618 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3619 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3620 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3624 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3625 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3627 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3628 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3632 @node Group Information
3633 @subsection Group Information
3634 @cindex group information
3635 @cindex information on groups
3642 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3643 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3646 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3647 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3648 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3649 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3650 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3651 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3652 for fetching the file.
3654 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3655 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3659 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3661 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3662 @cindex describing groups
3663 @cindex group description
3664 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3665 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3666 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3670 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3671 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3672 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3679 @findex gnus-version
3680 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3684 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3685 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3688 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3691 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3692 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3696 @node Group Timestamp
3697 @subsection Group Timestamp
3699 @cindex group timestamps
3701 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3702 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3703 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3706 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3709 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3711 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3712 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3715 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3716 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3719 This will result in lines looking like:
3722 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3723 0: custom 19961002T012713
3726 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3727 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3731 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3732 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3737 @subsection File Commands
3738 @cindex file commands
3744 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3745 @vindex gnus-init-file
3746 @cindex reading init file
3747 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3748 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3752 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3753 @cindex saving .newsrc
3754 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3755 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3756 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3759 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3760 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3761 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3766 @node The Summary Buffer
3767 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3768 @cindex summary buffer
3770 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3771 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3773 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3774 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3776 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3779 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3780 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3781 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3782 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3783 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3784 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3785 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3786 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3787 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3788 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3789 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3790 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3791 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3792 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3793 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3794 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3795 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3796 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
3797 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3798 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3799 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3800 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3801 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3802 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3803 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3804 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3805 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3806 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3810 @node Summary Buffer Format
3811 @section Summary Buffer Format
3812 @cindex summary buffer format
3816 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3817 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3818 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3824 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3825 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
3826 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3827 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3830 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3831 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3832 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3833 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3834 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3835 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3836 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3837 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3838 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3839 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3840 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
3843 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3844 'mail-extract-address-components)
3847 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3848 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3849 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3850 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3853 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3854 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3856 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3857 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3858 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3859 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3860 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3862 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3864 The following format specification characters are understood:
3870 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
3871 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
3873 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3874 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3875 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3877 Full @code{From} header.
3879 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3881 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
3882 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
3884 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3885 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3886 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3887 may be more thorough.
3889 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3892 Number of lines in the article.
3894 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported in some
3895 methods (like nnfolder).
3897 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3899 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3900 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3902 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3903 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3905 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3906 for adopted articles.
3908 One space for each thread level.
3910 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3915 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3916 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3920 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3922 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3923 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3924 default level. If the difference between
3925 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
3926 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3934 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3936 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3942 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3943 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3945 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3946 article has any children.
3952 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3953 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3954 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3955 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3956 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3957 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3960 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3961 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3962 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3963 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3964 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3965 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3967 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3968 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3970 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3973 @node To From Newsgroups
3974 @subsection To From Newsgroups
3978 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
3979 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
3980 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
3981 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
3982 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
3986 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
3987 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
3988 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
3992 (setq gnus-extra-headers
3993 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
3996 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
3997 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4000 @findex gnus-extra-header
4001 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4002 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4003 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4006 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4010 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4011 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4012 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4013 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4014 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4015 headers are used instead.
4019 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4020 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4021 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4022 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4025 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4026 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4027 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4028 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4030 In summary, you'd typically do something like the following:
4033 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4035 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4036 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4037 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
4038 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4042 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4043 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4050 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4051 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4054 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4055 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4057 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4058 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4059 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4060 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4062 Here are the elements you can play with:
4068 Unprefixed group name.
4070 Current article number.
4072 Current article score.
4076 Number of unread articles in this group.
4078 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4081 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4082 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4083 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4084 and no unselected ones.
4086 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4087 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4089 Subject of the current article.
4091 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4093 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4095 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4097 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4099 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4101 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4105 @node Summary Highlighting
4106 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4110 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4111 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4112 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4113 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4114 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4116 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4117 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4118 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4119 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4121 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4122 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4123 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4124 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4126 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4127 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4128 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4129 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4130 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4131 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4134 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4135 ((> score default) . bold))
4137 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4138 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4142 @node Summary Maneuvering
4143 @section Summary Maneuvering
4144 @cindex summary movement
4146 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4147 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4149 None of these commands select articles.
4154 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4155 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4156 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4157 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4158 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4162 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4163 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4164 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4165 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4166 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4171 @kindex G j (Summary)
4172 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4173 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4174 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4177 @kindex G g (Summary)
4178 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4179 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4180 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4183 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4184 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4185 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4186 to the group buffer.
4188 Variables related to summary movement:
4192 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4193 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4194 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4195 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4196 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4197 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4198 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4199 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4200 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4201 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4202 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4203 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4204 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4205 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4207 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4208 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4209 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4210 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4211 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4212 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4213 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4215 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4217 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4218 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4219 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4220 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4221 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4223 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4224 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4225 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4226 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4227 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4228 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4229 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4230 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4233 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4234 the given number of lines from the top.
4239 @node Choosing Articles
4240 @section Choosing Articles
4241 @cindex selecting articles
4244 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4245 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4249 @node Choosing Commands
4250 @subsection Choosing Commands
4252 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4253 and they all select and display an article.
4257 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4258 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4259 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4260 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4265 @kindex G n (Summary)
4266 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4267 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4268 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4273 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4274 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4275 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4280 @kindex G N (Summary)
4281 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4282 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4287 @kindex G P (Summary)
4288 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4289 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4292 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4293 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4294 Go to the next article with the same subject
4295 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4298 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4299 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4300 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4301 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4305 @kindex G f (Summary)
4307 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4308 Go to the first unread article
4309 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4313 @kindex G b (Summary)
4315 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4316 Go to the article with the highest score
4317 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4322 @kindex G l (Summary)
4323 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4324 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4327 @kindex G o (Summary)
4328 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4330 @cindex article history
4331 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4332 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4333 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4334 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4335 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4336 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4340 @node Choosing Variables
4341 @subsection Choosing Variables
4343 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4346 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4347 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4348 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4349 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4350 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4351 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4353 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4354 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4355 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4356 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4358 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4359 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4360 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4361 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4362 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4363 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4364 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4365 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4366 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4367 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4368 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4369 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4370 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4371 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4376 @node Paging the Article
4377 @section Scrolling the Article
4378 @cindex article scrolling
4383 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4384 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4385 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4386 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4387 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4390 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4391 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4392 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4395 @kindex RET (Summary)
4396 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4397 Scroll the current article one line forward
4398 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4401 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4402 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4403 Scroll the current article one line backward
4404 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4408 @kindex A g (Summary)
4410 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4411 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4412 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4413 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4414 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4415 the way it came from the server.
4417 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4418 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4419 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4422 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4427 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4432 @kindex A < (Summary)
4433 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4434 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4435 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4440 @kindex A > (Summary)
4441 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4442 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4446 @kindex A s (Summary)
4448 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4449 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4450 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4454 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4455 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4460 @node Reply Followup and Post
4461 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4464 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4465 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4466 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4467 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
4471 @node Summary Mail Commands
4472 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4474 @cindex composing mail
4476 Commands for composing a mail message:
4482 @kindex S r (Summary)
4484 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4485 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4486 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4487 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4488 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4493 @kindex S R (Summary)
4494 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4495 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4496 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4497 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4498 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4501 @kindex S w (Summary)
4502 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4503 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4504 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4505 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4506 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4509 @kindex S W (Summary)
4510 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4511 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4512 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4513 the process/prefix convention.
4517 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4518 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4519 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4520 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4521 Forward the current article to some other person
4522 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
4523 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
4524 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4525 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, foward message
4526 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4527 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, foward message
4528 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4529 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4530 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4535 @kindex S m (Summary)
4536 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4537 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4538 Send a mail to some other person
4539 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4542 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4543 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4544 @cindex bouncing mail
4545 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4546 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4547 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4548 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4549 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4550 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
4551 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4552 very well fail, though.
4555 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4556 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4557 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4558 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4559 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4560 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4561 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4562 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4563 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4564 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4566 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4567 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4568 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4569 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4570 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4572 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4573 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4576 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4577 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
4578 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4579 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
4580 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4583 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4584 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4585 @cindex crossposting
4586 @cindex excessive crossposting
4587 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4588 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4590 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4591 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4592 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4593 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4594 command understands the process/prefix convention
4595 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4599 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4602 @node Summary Post Commands
4603 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4605 @cindex composing news
4607 Commands for posting a news article:
4613 @kindex S p (Summary)
4614 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4615 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4616 Post an article to the current group
4617 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4622 @kindex S f (Summary)
4623 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4624 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4625 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4629 @kindex S F (Summary)
4631 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4632 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4633 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4634 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4635 process/prefix convention.
4638 @kindex S n (Summary)
4639 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4640 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4641 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4644 @kindex S N (Summary)
4645 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4646 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4647 message through mail and include the original message
4648 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4649 the process/prefix convention.
4652 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4653 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4654 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4655 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
4656 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
4657 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
4658 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4659 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, foward message
4660 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4661 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, foward message
4662 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4663 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4664 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4667 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4668 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4670 @cindex making digests
4671 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4672 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4673 process/prefix convention.
4676 @kindex S u (Summary)
4677 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4678 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4679 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4680 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4683 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4686 @node Summary Message Commands
4687 @subsection Summary Message Commands
4691 @kindex S y (Summary)
4692 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
4693 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
4694 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
4695 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
4696 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4701 @node Canceling and Superseding
4702 @subsection Canceling Articles
4703 @cindex canceling articles
4704 @cindex superseding articles
4706 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4707 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4709 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4711 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4713 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4714 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4715 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4716 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4717 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4718 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4720 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4721 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4724 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4725 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4726 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4728 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4729 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4730 your original article.
4732 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4734 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4735 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4736 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4739 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4740 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4741 have posted almost the same article twice.
4743 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4744 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4745 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4746 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4747 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4748 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4749 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4750 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4751 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4752 canceled/superseded.
4754 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4757 @node Marking Articles
4758 @section Marking Articles
4759 @cindex article marking
4760 @cindex article ticking
4763 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4765 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4766 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4767 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4769 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4772 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4773 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4774 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4778 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4782 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4783 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
4784 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4788 @node Unread Articles
4789 @subsection Unread Articles
4791 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4796 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4797 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4799 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4800 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4801 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4802 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4803 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4807 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4808 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4810 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4811 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4812 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4815 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4816 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4818 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4823 @subsection Read Articles
4824 @cindex expirable mark
4826 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4831 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4832 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4833 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4836 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4837 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4840 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4841 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4842 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4845 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4846 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4849 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4850 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4853 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4854 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4857 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4858 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4861 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4862 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4865 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4866 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4869 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4870 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4874 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4875 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4876 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4880 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4881 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4883 One more special mark, though:
4887 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4888 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4890 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4891 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4892 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4893 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4899 @subsection Other Marks
4900 @cindex process mark
4903 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4909 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4910 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4911 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4912 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4913 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
4916 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4917 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4918 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4919 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4922 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4923 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4924 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4927 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4928 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4929 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4930 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4933 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4934 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4935 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4936 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4937 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4940 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4941 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4942 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4943 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4944 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4945 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4949 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4950 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4951 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4953 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4954 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4955 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4959 @subsection Setting Marks
4960 @cindex setting marks
4962 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4967 @kindex M c (Summary)
4968 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4969 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4970 @cindex mark as unread
4971 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4972 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4978 @kindex M t (Summary)
4979 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4980 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4981 @xref{Article Caching}.
4986 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4987 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4988 Mark the current article as dormant
4989 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4993 @kindex M d (Summary)
4995 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4996 Mark the current article as read
4997 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5001 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5002 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5003 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5008 @kindex M k (Summary)
5009 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5010 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5011 and then select the next unread article
5012 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5016 @kindex M K (Summary)
5017 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5018 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5019 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5020 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5023 @kindex M C (Summary)
5024 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5025 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5026 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5029 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5030 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5031 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5032 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5035 @kindex M H (Summary)
5036 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5037 Catchup the current group to point
5038 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5041 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5042 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5043 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5044 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5047 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5048 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5049 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5050 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5054 @kindex M e (Summary)
5056 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5057 Mark the current article as expirable
5058 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5061 @kindex M b (Summary)
5062 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5063 Set a bookmark in the current article
5064 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5067 @kindex M B (Summary)
5068 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5069 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5070 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5073 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5074 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5075 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5076 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5079 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5080 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5081 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5082 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5085 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5086 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5087 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5088 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5089 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5092 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5093 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5094 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5095 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5096 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5097 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5098 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5099 The default is @code{t}.
5102 @node Generic Marking Commands
5103 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5105 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5106 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5107 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5108 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5109 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5112 Multiply these five behaviours with five different marking commands, and
5113 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5116 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5117 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5118 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5119 to list in this manual.
5121 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5122 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5123 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5124 article, you could say something like:
5127 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5128 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5129 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5135 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5136 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5140 @node Setting Process Marks
5141 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5142 @cindex setting process marks
5149 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5150 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5151 Mark the current article with the process mark
5152 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5153 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5157 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5158 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5159 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5160 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5163 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5164 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5165 Remove the process mark from all articles
5166 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5169 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5170 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5171 Invert the list of process marked articles
5172 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5175 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5176 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5177 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5178 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5181 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5182 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5183 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5184 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5187 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5188 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5189 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5192 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5193 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5194 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5195 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5198 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5199 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5200 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5201 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5204 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5205 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5206 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5207 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5210 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5211 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5212 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5215 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5216 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5217 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5218 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5221 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5222 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5223 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5226 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5227 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5228 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5229 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5232 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5233 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5234 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5235 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5238 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5239 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5240 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5241 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5244 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5245 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5246 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5247 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5251 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5252 set process marks based on article body contents.
5259 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5260 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5261 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5264 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5265 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5266 additional articles.
5272 @kindex / / (Summary)
5273 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5274 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5275 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
5278 @kindex / a (Summary)
5279 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5280 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5281 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
5284 @kindex / x (Summary)
5285 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5286 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5287 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5288 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
5292 @kindex / u (Summary)
5294 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5295 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5296 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5297 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5298 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5301 @kindex / m (Summary)
5302 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5303 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5304 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5307 @kindex / t (Summary)
5308 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5309 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5310 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5311 articles younger than that number of days.
5314 @kindex / n (Summary)
5315 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5316 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5317 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5318 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5321 @kindex / w (Summary)
5322 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5323 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5324 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5328 @kindex / v (Summary)
5329 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5330 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5331 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5335 @kindex M S (Summary)
5336 @kindex / E (Summary)
5337 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5338 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5339 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5342 @kindex / D (Summary)
5343 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5344 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5345 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5348 @kindex / * (Summary)
5349 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5350 Include all cached articles in the limit
5351 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5354 @kindex / d (Summary)
5355 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5356 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5357 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5360 @kindex / M (Summary)
5361 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5362 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5365 @kindex / T (Summary)
5366 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5367 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5370 @kindex / c (Summary)
5371 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5372 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5373 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5376 @kindex / C (Summary)
5377 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5378 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5379 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5380 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5388 @cindex article threading
5390 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5391 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5392 hierarchical fashion.
5394 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5395 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5396 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5397 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
5398 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5399 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5400 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5402 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5406 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5409 A tree-like article structure.
5412 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5415 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5416 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5417 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5418 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5419 called loose threads.
5421 @item thread gathering
5422 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
5424 @item sparse threads
5425 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
5426 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
5432 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
5433 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
5437 @node Customizing Threading
5438 @subsection Customizing Threading
5439 @cindex customizing threading
5442 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
5443 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
5444 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
5445 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
5450 @subsubsection Loose Threads
5453 @cindex loose threads
5456 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
5457 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
5458 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
5459 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
5460 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
5461 read or killed the root in a previous session.
5463 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
5464 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
5465 There are four possible values:
5469 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
5470 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
5471 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5472 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5473 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5478 @cindex adopting articles
5483 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
5484 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
5485 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
5486 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
5489 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
5490 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
5491 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
5492 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
5493 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
5494 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
5495 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5498 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
5499 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
5500 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
5504 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
5505 display them after one another.
5508 Don't gather loose threads.
5511 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5512 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5513 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5514 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
5515 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5516 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5517 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5518 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5519 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5520 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
5521 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5523 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5524 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
5525 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
5528 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5529 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5530 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
5531 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
5532 simplification is used.
5534 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5535 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5536 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
5537 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
5539 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
5541 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5547 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
5548 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
5549 "answer" "reference" "announce"
5550 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
5555 (mapconcat 'identity
5556 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
5558 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
5561 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
5564 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5565 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5566 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
5567 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
5568 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
5569 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
5571 Useful functions to put in this list include:
5574 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
5575 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
5576 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
5578 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5579 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5582 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
5583 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
5584 Remove excessive whitespace.
5587 You may also write your own functions, of course.
5590 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5591 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5592 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
5593 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
5594 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
5595 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
5596 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
5597 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
5599 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5600 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5601 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
5602 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
5603 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
5604 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
5605 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
5606 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
5607 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
5611 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5612 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5613 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
5614 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
5616 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5617 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5618 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
5621 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
5625 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5626 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
5632 @node Filling In Threads
5633 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
5636 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
5637 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
5638 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
5639 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
5640 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
5641 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
5642 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
5643 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
5644 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
5645 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
5646 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
5647 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
5649 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
5650 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
5651 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
5653 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
5654 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
5655 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
5656 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
5657 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
5658 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
5659 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
5660 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
5661 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
5662 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
5663 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
5664 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
5665 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
5666 @code{nil} by default.
5671 @node More Threading
5672 @subsubsection More Threading
5675 @item gnus-show-threads
5676 @vindex gnus-show-threads
5677 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
5678 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
5679 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
5680 slower and more awkward.
5682 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5683 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5684 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
5687 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
5688 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
5689 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
5690 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
5691 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
5692 threads are expunged.
5694 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
5695 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
5696 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
5699 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5700 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5701 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
5702 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
5703 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
5706 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
5707 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
5708 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
5711 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5712 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5713 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
5714 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
5715 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
5716 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
5717 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
5718 Setting this variable to an alternate value
5719 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
5720 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
5721 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
5726 @node Low-Level Threading
5727 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
5731 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
5732 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
5733 Hook run before parsing any headers.
5735 @item gnus-alter-header-function
5736 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
5737 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
5738 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
5739 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
5740 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
5741 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
5742 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
5743 meaningful. Here's one example:
5746 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
5748 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
5749 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
5751 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
5753 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
5760 @node Thread Commands
5761 @subsection Thread Commands
5762 @cindex thread commands
5768 @kindex T k (Summary)
5769 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
5770 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
5771 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
5772 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
5773 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
5778 @kindex T l (Summary)
5779 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5780 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5781 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5782 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5785 @kindex T i (Summary)
5786 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5787 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5788 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5791 @kindex T # (Summary)
5792 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5793 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5794 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5797 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5798 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5799 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5800 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5803 @kindex T T (Summary)
5804 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5805 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5808 @kindex T s (Summary)
5809 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5810 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5811 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5814 @kindex T h (Summary)
5815 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5816 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5819 @kindex T S (Summary)
5820 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5821 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5824 @kindex T H (Summary)
5825 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5826 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5829 @kindex T t (Summary)
5830 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5831 Re-thread the current article's thread
5832 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5833 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5836 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5837 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5838 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5839 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5843 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5844 understand the numeric prefix.
5849 @kindex T n (Summary)
5851 @kindex M-C-n (Summary)
5853 @kindex M-down (Summary)
5854 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5855 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5858 @kindex T p (Summary)
5860 @kindex M-C-p (Summary)
5862 @kindex M-up (Summary)
5863 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5864 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5867 @kindex T d (Summary)
5868 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5869 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5872 @kindex T u (Summary)
5873 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5874 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5877 @kindex T o (Summary)
5878 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5879 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5882 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5883 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5884 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5885 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5886 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5887 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5888 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5889 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5890 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5891 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5892 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5893 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5900 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5901 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5902 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5903 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5904 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5905 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5906 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5907 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5908 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
5909 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
5910 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
5912 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5913 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5914 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5915 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5916 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5918 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5919 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5920 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
5922 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
5923 last function in the list. You should probably always include
5924 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5925 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5926 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5927 ascending article order.
5929 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
5930 by number, you could do something like:
5933 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5934 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5935 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5936 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
5939 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5940 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5941 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5942 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5943 which the articles arrived.
5945 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5949 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5951 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5952 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5955 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5956 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5957 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5958 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5961 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5962 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5963 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5964 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5965 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5966 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5967 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5968 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5969 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5970 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5971 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5972 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5973 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5975 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5979 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5980 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5981 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5986 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5987 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5988 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5989 @cindex article pre-fetch
5992 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5993 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5994 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5995 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5996 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5998 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5999 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6001 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6002 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6003 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6004 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6005 connection is blocked.
6007 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6008 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6009 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6010 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6012 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6013 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6014 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6015 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6018 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6021 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6022 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6023 happen automatically.
6025 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6026 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6027 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6028 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
6029 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
6030 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6031 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6033 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6034 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6035 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6036 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6037 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6038 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6039 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6040 data structure as the only parameter.
6042 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6045 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6046 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6047 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6048 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6051 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6054 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6055 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6056 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6058 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6059 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6060 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6061 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6065 Remove articles when they are read.
6068 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6071 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6073 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6074 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6075 @c from the next group.
6078 @node Article Caching
6079 @section Article Caching
6080 @cindex article caching
6083 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6084 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6085 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6086 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6087 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6089 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6091 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6092 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6093 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6094 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6095 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6096 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6097 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
6098 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6100 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6101 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6102 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6103 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6104 as dormant, and don't worry.
6106 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6108 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6109 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6110 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6111 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6112 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6113 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6114 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6115 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6116 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6117 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6119 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6120 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6121 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6122 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6123 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6124 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6125 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6126 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6127 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6128 not then be downloaded by this command.
6130 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6131 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6132 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6133 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6134 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6135 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6137 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6138 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6139 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6140 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6141 variables, the group is not cached.
6143 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6144 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6145 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6146 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6147 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6148 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6149 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6150 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6151 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6155 @node Persistent Articles
6156 @section Persistent Articles
6157 @cindex persistent articles
6159 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6160 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6161 useful in my opinion.
6163 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6164 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6165 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6166 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6167 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6168 the expiry going on at the news server.
6170 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6171 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6172 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6178 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6179 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6182 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6183 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6184 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6185 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6189 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6191 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6192 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6193 interested in persistent articles:
6196 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6200 @node Article Backlog
6201 @section Article Backlog
6203 @cindex article backlog
6205 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6206 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6207 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
6208 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6209 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6210 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6211 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
6212 increase memory usage some.
6214 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6215 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
6216 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6217 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
6218 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6219 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6220 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6222 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6225 @node Saving Articles
6226 @section Saving Articles
6227 @cindex saving articles
6229 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6230 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6231 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6232 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6233 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6235 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6236 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
6237 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6239 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6240 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6241 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6242 deleted before saving.
6248 @kindex O o (Summary)
6250 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6251 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6252 Save the current article using the default article saver
6253 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6256 @kindex O m (Summary)
6257 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6258 Save the current article in mail format
6259 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6262 @kindex O r (Summary)
6263 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6264 Save the current article in rmail format
6265 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6268 @kindex O f (Summary)
6269 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6270 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6271 Save the current article in plain file format
6272 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6275 @kindex O F (Summary)
6276 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6277 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6278 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6281 @kindex O b (Summary)
6282 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6283 Save the current article body in plain file format
6284 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6287 @kindex O h (Summary)
6288 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6289 Save the current article in mh folder format
6290 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6293 @kindex O v (Summary)
6294 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6295 Save the current article in a VM folder
6296 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6299 @kindex O p (Summary)
6300 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6301 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6302 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6305 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6306 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6307 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6308 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6309 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6310 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6311 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6312 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6313 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6314 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6315 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6316 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6320 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6321 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6322 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6323 functions below, or you can create your own.
6327 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6328 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6329 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6330 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6331 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6332 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6333 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6335 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6336 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6337 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6338 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6339 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6340 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6342 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6343 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6344 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6345 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6346 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6347 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6348 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6350 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6351 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6352 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6353 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6354 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6356 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6357 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6358 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6359 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6360 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6363 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6364 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6365 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6366 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6367 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6369 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6370 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6371 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6372 reader to use this setting.
6375 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6376 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6377 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6378 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6381 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6382 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6383 available functions that generate names:
6387 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6388 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6389 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6391 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6392 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6393 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6395 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6396 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6397 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6399 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6400 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6401 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6404 @vindex gnus-split-methods
6405 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
6406 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
6407 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
6408 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
6412 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
6413 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
6414 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
6415 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
6418 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
6419 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
6420 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
6421 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
6422 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
6423 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
6424 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
6425 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
6426 called returns a string or a list of strings.
6428 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
6429 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
6430 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
6431 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
6433 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
6434 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
6435 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
6438 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
6439 lots of mail groups called things like
6440 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
6441 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
6442 following will do just that:
6445 (defun my-save-name (group)
6446 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
6447 (substring group (match-end 0))))
6449 (setq gnus-split-methods
6450 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
6455 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6456 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
6457 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
6458 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
6459 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
6460 all the files in the top level directory
6461 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
6462 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
6463 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
6464 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
6466 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
6467 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
6468 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
6469 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
6470 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
6473 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
6477 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
6478 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
6481 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
6482 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
6483 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
6484 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
6487 @node Decoding Articles
6488 @section Decoding Articles
6489 @cindex decoding articles
6491 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
6492 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
6495 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
6496 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
6497 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
6498 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
6499 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
6500 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
6504 @cindex article series
6505 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
6506 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
6507 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
6508 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
6509 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
6511 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
6512 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
6513 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
6515 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
6516 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
6517 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
6519 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
6520 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
6521 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
6524 @node Uuencoded Articles
6525 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
6527 @cindex uuencoded articles
6532 @kindex X u (Summary)
6533 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
6534 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
6535 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
6538 @kindex X U (Summary)
6539 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
6540 Uudecodes and saves the current series
6541 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6544 @kindex X v u (Summary)
6545 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
6546 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
6549 @kindex X v U (Summary)
6550 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
6551 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
6552 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
6556 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
6557 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
6558 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
6559 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
6560 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6562 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
6563 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
6564 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
6565 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
6568 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
6569 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
6570 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
6571 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
6572 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
6573 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
6577 @node Shell Archives
6578 @subsection Shell Archives
6580 @cindex shell archives
6581 @cindex shared articles
6583 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
6584 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
6585 some commands to deal with these:
6590 @kindex X s (Summary)
6591 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
6592 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
6595 @kindex X S (Summary)
6596 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
6597 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
6600 @kindex X v s (Summary)
6601 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
6602 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
6605 @kindex X v S (Summary)
6606 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
6607 Unshars, views and saves the current series
6608 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
6612 @node PostScript Files
6613 @subsection PostScript Files
6619 @kindex X p (Summary)
6620 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
6621 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
6624 @kindex X P (Summary)
6625 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
6626 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
6627 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
6630 @kindex X v p (Summary)
6631 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
6632 View the current PostScript series
6633 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
6636 @kindex X v P (Summary)
6637 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
6638 View and save the current PostScript series
6639 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
6644 @subsection Other Files
6648 @kindex X o (Summary)
6649 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
6650 Save the current series
6651 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
6654 @kindex X b (Summary)
6655 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
6656 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
6657 doesn't really work yet.
6661 @node Decoding Variables
6662 @subsection Decoding Variables
6664 Adjective, not verb.
6667 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
6668 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
6669 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
6673 @node Rule Variables
6674 @subsubsection Rule Variables
6675 @cindex rule variables
6677 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
6678 variables are of the form
6681 (list '(regexp1 command2)
6688 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6689 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6691 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
6692 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
6695 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6696 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
6699 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6700 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6701 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
6702 user and default view rules.
6704 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6705 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6706 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
6711 @node Other Decode Variables
6712 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
6715 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6717 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6718 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
6719 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
6720 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
6721 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
6725 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
6726 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
6729 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
6730 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
6731 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
6734 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6735 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6736 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
6737 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
6738 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
6741 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6742 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6743 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
6745 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6746 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6747 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
6748 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
6749 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
6752 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6753 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6754 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
6756 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6757 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6758 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
6759 looking for files to display.
6761 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
6762 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
6763 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
6766 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6767 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6768 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
6771 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6772 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6773 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
6776 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6777 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6778 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
6781 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6782 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6783 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
6784 decoded articles as unread.
6786 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6787 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6788 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
6789 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6791 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6792 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6793 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6795 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6796 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6798 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6799 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6800 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6801 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6803 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6804 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6805 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6806 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6807 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6808 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
6809 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6810 simply dropped them.
6815 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6816 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6820 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6821 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6822 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6823 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6824 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6825 for you when you post the article.
6827 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6828 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6829 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6830 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6832 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6833 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6834 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6835 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6836 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6837 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6838 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6840 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6841 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6842 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6843 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6844 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6845 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6846 Default is @code{t}.
6852 @subsection Viewing Files
6853 @cindex viewing files
6854 @cindex pseudo-articles
6856 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
6857 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6858 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6859 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
6860 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6861 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6862 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6864 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6865 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6866 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6867 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6869 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6870 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6871 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6873 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6874 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6875 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6876 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6877 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6879 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6880 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6881 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6882 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6883 a list of parameters to that command.
6885 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6886 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6887 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6889 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6890 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6891 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6894 @node Article Treatment
6895 @section Article Treatment
6897 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6898 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6899 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6900 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6901 these articles easier.
6904 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6905 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6906 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6907 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6908 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6909 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6910 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6911 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
6915 @node Article Highlighting
6916 @subsection Article Highlighting
6917 @cindex highlighting
6919 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6920 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6925 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6926 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6927 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6928 Do much highlighting of the current article
6929 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
6930 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
6933 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6934 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6935 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6936 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6937 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6938 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
6939 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
6940 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6941 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6942 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6943 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6944 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6947 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6948 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6949 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6951 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6954 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6956 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6957 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6958 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6960 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6961 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6962 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6964 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6965 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6966 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6968 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6969 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6970 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6971 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6972 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6973 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6975 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6976 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6977 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6979 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6980 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6981 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6983 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6984 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6985 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6986 that it's a citation.
6988 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6989 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6990 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6992 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6993 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6994 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6996 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6997 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6998 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6999 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7005 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7006 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7007 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7008 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7009 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7010 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7011 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7012 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7017 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7020 @node Article Fontisizing
7021 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7023 @cindex article emphasis
7025 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7026 @kindex W e (Summary)
7027 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7028 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7029 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7030 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7032 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7033 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7034 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7035 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7036 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7037 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7038 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7039 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7043 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
7044 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7045 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7054 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7055 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7056 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7057 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7058 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7059 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7060 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7061 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7062 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7063 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7064 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7065 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7066 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7068 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7069 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7070 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7074 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7077 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7079 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7080 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7081 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7082 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7084 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7087 @node Article Hiding
7088 @subsection Article Hiding
7089 @cindex article hiding
7091 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7092 too much cruft in most articles.
7097 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7098 @findex gnus-article-hide
7099 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7100 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7101 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7104 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7105 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7106 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7110 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7111 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7112 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7113 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7116 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7117 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7118 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7122 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7123 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7124 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7125 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7126 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7127 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7128 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7129 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7133 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7134 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7135 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7136 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7141 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7142 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7143 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7144 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7145 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7146 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7147 articles that have signatures in them do:
7149 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7151 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7153 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7154 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7156 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7159 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7164 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7165 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7166 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7167 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7170 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7171 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7174 @cindex stripping advertisments
7175 @cindex advertisments
7176 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7177 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7178 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7179 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7180 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7181 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7182 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7183 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7184 signature should be removed.
7187 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7188 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7189 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7190 customizing the hiding:
7194 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7195 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7196 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7197 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7198 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7199 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7200 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7205 Starting point of the hidden text.
7207 Ending point of the hidden text.
7209 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7211 Number of lines of hidden text.
7214 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7215 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7216 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7217 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7218 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7223 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7224 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7226 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7227 following two variables:
7230 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7231 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7232 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7233 50), hide the cited text.
7235 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7236 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7237 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7242 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7243 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7244 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7245 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7246 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7247 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7251 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7252 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7253 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7255 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7256 citation customization.
7258 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7262 @node Article Washing
7263 @subsection Article Washing
7265 @cindex article washing
7267 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7268 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7270 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7271 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7277 @kindex W l (Summary)
7278 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7279 Remove page breaks from the current article
7280 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7284 @kindex W r (Summary)
7285 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7286 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7287 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7288 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7289 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7290 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7292 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7293 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7294 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7295 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7299 @kindex W t (Summary)
7301 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
7302 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7303 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
7306 @kindex W v (Summary)
7307 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7308 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7309 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7312 @kindex W o (Summary)
7313 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7314 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7317 @kindex W d (Summary)
7318 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7319 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7321 @cindex M******** sm*rtq**t*s
7323 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7324 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7325 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7326 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7330 @kindex W w (Summary)
7331 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7332 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7334 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7338 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7339 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7340 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7343 @kindex W C (Summary)
7344 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7345 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7346 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7349 @kindex W c (Summary)
7350 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7351 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7352 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7353 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7354 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7357 @kindex W q (Summary)
7358 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
7359 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
7360 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
7361 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
7362 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
7363 readable to me. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
7364 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
7365 header that says that this encoding has been done.
7368 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
7369 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
7370 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
7371 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
7372 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
7373 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
7374 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
7378 @kindex W Z (Summary)
7379 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
7380 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
7381 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
7382 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
7385 @kindex W h (Summary)
7386 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
7387 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
7388 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
7389 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
7393 @kindex W f (Summary)
7395 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
7396 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
7397 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
7398 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
7404 Look for and display any X-Face headers
7405 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
7406 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
7407 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
7408 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
7409 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
7410 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
7411 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
7412 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For the
7413 @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
7414 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.}
7415 to view the face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image
7416 support, the default action is to display the face before the
7417 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
7418 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
7419 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
7420 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
7421 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
7422 like @code{netpbm} or @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you
7423 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
7427 @kindex W b (Summary)
7428 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
7429 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
7430 @xref{Article Buttons}.
7433 @kindex W B (Summary)
7434 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
7435 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
7436 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
7439 @kindex W W H (Summary)
7440 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
7441 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
7442 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
7445 @kindex W E l (Summary)
7446 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
7447 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
7448 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
7451 @kindex W E m (Summary)
7452 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
7453 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
7454 lines with a single empty line.
7455 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
7458 @kindex W E t (Summary)
7459 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
7460 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
7461 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
7464 @kindex W E a (Summary)
7465 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
7466 Do all the three commands above
7467 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
7470 @kindex W E A (Summary)
7471 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
7472 Remove all blank lines
7473 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
7476 @kindex W E s (Summary)
7477 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
7478 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
7479 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
7482 @kindex W E e (Summary)
7483 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
7484 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
7485 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
7489 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
7492 @node Article Buttons
7493 @subsection Article Buttons
7496 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
7497 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
7498 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
7499 button on these references.
7501 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
7502 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
7503 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
7508 @item gnus-button-alist
7509 @vindex gnus-button-alist
7510 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
7513 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7519 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
7520 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
7521 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
7524 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
7525 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
7526 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
7529 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
7530 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
7531 avoid false matches.
7534 This function will be called when you click on this button.
7537 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
7538 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
7542 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
7545 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
7548 @item gnus-header-button-alist
7549 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
7550 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
7551 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
7552 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
7555 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7558 @var{header} is a regular expression.
7560 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
7561 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
7562 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
7563 default values of the variables above.
7565 @item gnus-article-button-face
7566 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
7567 Face used on buttons.
7569 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
7570 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
7571 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
7575 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
7579 @subsection Article Date
7581 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
7582 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
7583 when the article was sent.
7588 @kindex W T u (Summary)
7589 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
7590 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
7591 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
7594 @kindex W T i (Summary)
7595 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
7597 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
7598 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
7601 @kindex W T l (Summary)
7602 @findex gnus-article-date-local
7603 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
7606 @kindex W T s (Summary)
7607 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
7608 @findex gnus-article-date-user
7609 @findex format-time-string
7610 Display the date using a user-defined format
7611 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
7612 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
7613 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
7614 for a list of possible format specs.
7617 @kindex W T e (Summary)
7618 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
7619 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
7620 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
7621 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
7622 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
7625 X-Sent: 9 years, 6 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes, 28 seconds ago
7628 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
7629 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
7632 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
7633 into wonderful absurdities.
7635 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
7638 (gnus-start-date-timer)
7641 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
7642 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
7646 @kindex W T o (Summary)
7647 @findex gnus-article-date-original
7648 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
7649 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
7650 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
7651 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
7652 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
7656 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
7657 preferred format automatically.
7660 @node Article Signature
7661 @subsection Article Signature
7663 @cindex article signature
7665 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7666 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
7667 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
7668 that says what is to be considered a signature is
7669 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
7670 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
7671 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
7672 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
7673 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
7676 (setq gnus-signature-separator
7677 '("^-- $" ; The standard
7678 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
7679 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
7680 ; line of dashes. Shame!
7681 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
7682 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
7683 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
7686 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
7689 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
7690 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
7691 signature when displaying articles.
7695 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
7698 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
7701 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
7702 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
7704 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
7705 in question is not a signature.
7708 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
7709 listed above. Here's an example:
7712 (setq gnus-signature-limit
7713 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
7716 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
7717 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
7718 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
7719 signature after all.
7722 @node Article Miscellania
7723 @subsection Article Miscellania
7727 @kindex A t (Summary)
7728 @findex gnus-article-babel
7729 Translate the article from one language to another
7730 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
7736 @section @sc{mime} Commands
7737 @cindex MIME decoding
7739 @cindex viewing attachments
7741 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
7742 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
7748 @kindex K v (Summary)
7749 View the @sc{mime} part.
7752 @kindex K o (Summary)
7753 Save the @sc{mime} part.
7756 @kindex K c (Summary)
7757 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
7760 @kindex K e (Summary)
7761 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
7764 @kindex K i (Summary)
7765 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
7768 @kindex K | (Summary)
7769 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
7772 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
7777 @kindex K b (Summary)
7778 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
7779 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
7783 @kindex K m (Summary)
7784 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
7785 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
7786 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
7787 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
7788 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
7791 @kindex X m (Summary)
7792 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
7793 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
7794 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
7795 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7798 @kindex M-t (Summary)
7799 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
7800 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
7801 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
7804 @kindex W M w (Summary)
7805 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
7806 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
7809 @kindex W M c (Summary)
7810 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
7811 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
7813 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
7814 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
7815 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
7816 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
7817 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
7818 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
7821 @kindex W M v (Summary)
7822 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
7823 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
7830 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
7831 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
7832 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7833 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
7836 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
7839 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
7843 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7844 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7845 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7846 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
7847 displayed. The default value is @code{(".*/.*")}.
7849 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
7850 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
7851 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
7852 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
7853 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
7854 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
7855 save all jpegs into some directory).
7857 Here's an example function the does the latter:
7860 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
7861 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
7863 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
7864 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
7865 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
7866 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
7867 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
7870 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7871 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7872 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
7881 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
7882 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
7883 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
7884 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
7885 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
7886 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
7887 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
7889 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
7890 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
7891 variable, which is an alist of regexps (to match group names) and
7892 default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
7894 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
7895 aren't. These blitely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1} even
7896 if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
7897 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
7898 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be set
7899 on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
7900 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit)}, which is
7901 something some agents insist on having in there.
7903 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
7904 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
7905 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
7906 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
7907 quoted-printable header encoding.
7909 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
7910 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
7911 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
7915 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
7918 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
7919 means encode all charsets),
7921 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
7922 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
7923 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
7930 @cindex coding system aliases
7931 @cindex preferred charset
7933 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
7935 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
7936 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
7939 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
7940 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
7943 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
7944 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
7946 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
7949 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
7952 This will almost do the right thing.
7954 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
7958 (codepage-setup 1251)
7959 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
7963 @node Article Commands
7964 @section Article Commands
7971 @kindex A P (Summary)
7972 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
7973 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
7974 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
7975 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
7976 run just before printing the buffer.
7981 @node Summary Sorting
7982 @section Summary Sorting
7983 @cindex summary sorting
7985 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
7986 can't really see why you'd want that.
7991 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
7992 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
7993 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
7996 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
7997 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
7998 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8001 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8002 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8003 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8006 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8007 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8008 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8011 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8012 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8013 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8016 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8017 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8018 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8021 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8022 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8023 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8026 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8027 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8028 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8029 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8030 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8034 @node Finding the Parent
8035 @section Finding the Parent
8036 @cindex parent articles
8037 @cindex referring articles
8042 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8043 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8044 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8045 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8046 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8047 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8048 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8049 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8050 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8052 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8053 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8054 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
8055 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8056 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8060 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8061 @kindex A R (Summary)
8062 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8063 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8066 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8067 @kindex A T (Summary)
8068 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8069 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8070 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8071 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8072 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8073 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8074 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8076 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8077 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8078 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8079 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8080 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8081 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8084 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8085 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8087 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8088 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8089 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8090 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8091 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8092 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8093 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8096 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8097 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8098 by giving this command a prefix.
8100 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8101 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
8102 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8103 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8104 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8105 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8108 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8109 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8110 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8113 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8114 then ask Deja if that fails:
8117 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8119 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8122 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
8123 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
8124 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8125 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
8126 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
8127 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
8130 @node Alternative Approaches
8131 @section Alternative Approaches
8133 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8134 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8137 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8138 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8143 @subsection Pick and Read
8144 @cindex pick and read
8146 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8147 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8148 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8149 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8151 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8152 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8153 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8154 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8155 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8156 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8158 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8163 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8164 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8165 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8166 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8167 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8168 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8169 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8170 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8173 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8174 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8175 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8176 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8180 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8181 Unpick the thread or article
8182 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8183 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8184 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8185 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8186 the thread or article at that line.
8190 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8191 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8192 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8193 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8194 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8195 will still be visible when you are reading.
8199 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8200 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8201 which is mapped to the same function
8202 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8204 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8207 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8210 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8211 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8213 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8214 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8215 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8217 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8218 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8219 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8220 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8221 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8222 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8223 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8227 @subsection Binary Groups
8228 @cindex binary groups
8230 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8231 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8232 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8233 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8234 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8235 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8236 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8239 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8240 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8241 command, when you have turned on this mode
8242 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8244 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8245 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8249 @section Tree Display
8252 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8253 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
8254 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8255 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8258 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8261 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8262 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8263 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8265 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8266 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8267 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8268 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8269 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8271 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8272 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8273 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8274 default is @code{modeline}.
8276 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8277 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8278 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8279 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8280 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8281 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8282 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8288 The name of the poster.
8290 The @code{From} header.
8292 The number of the article.
8294 The opening bracket.
8296 The closing bracket.
8301 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8303 Variables related to the display are:
8306 @item gnus-tree-brackets
8307 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
8308 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
8309 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
8310 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
8311 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
8313 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8314 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8315 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
8316 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
8320 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
8321 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
8322 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
8323 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
8324 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
8325 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
8326 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
8327 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
8328 other windows displayed next to it.
8330 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
8331 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
8332 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8333 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
8334 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
8335 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
8336 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
8340 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
8343 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
8353 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
8357 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
8358 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
8360 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
8362 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
8367 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
8368 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
8369 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
8372 (setq gnus-use-trees t
8373 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8374 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
8375 (gnus-add-configuration
8379 (summary 0.75 point)
8384 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
8387 @node Mail Group Commands
8388 @section Mail Group Commands
8389 @cindex mail group commands
8391 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
8392 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
8394 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
8395 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8400 @kindex B e (Summary)
8401 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
8402 Expire all expirable articles in the group
8403 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
8406 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
8407 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
8408 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
8409 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
8410 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
8411 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
8414 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
8415 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
8416 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
8417 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
8418 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
8419 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
8422 @kindex B m (Summary)
8424 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
8425 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
8426 Move the article from one mail group to another
8427 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8428 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8431 @kindex B c (Summary)
8433 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
8434 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
8435 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
8436 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8437 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8440 @kindex B B (Summary)
8441 @cindex crosspost mail
8442 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
8443 Crosspost the current article to some other group
8444 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
8445 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
8446 be properly updated.
8449 @kindex B i (Summary)
8450 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
8451 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
8452 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
8453 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
8456 @kindex B r (Summary)
8457 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
8458 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
8459 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
8460 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
8461 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
8462 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
8463 (which is the default).
8467 @kindex B w (Summary)
8469 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
8470 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
8471 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
8472 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
8473 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
8474 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
8477 @kindex B q (Summary)
8478 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
8479 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
8480 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
8481 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
8484 @kindex B t (Summary)
8485 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
8486 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
8487 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
8490 @kindex B p (Summary)
8491 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
8492 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
8493 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
8494 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
8495 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
8496 article from your news server (or rather, from
8497 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
8498 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
8499 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
8500 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
8501 just not have arrived yet.
8505 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
8506 @cindex moving articles
8507 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
8508 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
8509 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
8510 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
8511 suggestions you find reasonable.
8514 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
8515 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
8516 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
8517 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
8521 @node Various Summary Stuff
8522 @section Various Summary Stuff
8525 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
8526 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
8527 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
8528 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
8532 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
8533 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
8534 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
8536 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
8537 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
8538 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
8539 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
8540 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
8541 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
8544 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8545 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8546 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
8547 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
8548 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
8550 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8551 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8552 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
8555 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8556 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8557 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
8558 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
8559 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
8560 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
8561 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
8562 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
8563 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
8564 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
8566 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8567 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8568 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
8569 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
8570 list of articles to be selected.
8572 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
8573 the list in one particular group:
8576 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
8577 (if (string= group "some.group")
8578 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
8585 @node Summary Group Information
8586 @subsection Summary Group Information
8591 @kindex H f (Summary)
8592 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
8593 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
8594 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
8595 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
8596 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
8597 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
8598 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
8599 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
8600 be used for fetching the file.
8603 @kindex H d (Summary)
8604 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
8605 Give a brief description of the current group
8606 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
8607 rereading the description from the server.
8610 @kindex H h (Summary)
8611 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
8612 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
8613 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
8616 @kindex H i (Summary)
8617 @findex gnus-info-find-node
8618 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
8622 @node Searching for Articles
8623 @subsection Searching for Articles
8628 @kindex M-s (Summary)
8629 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
8630 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
8631 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
8634 @kindex M-r (Summary)
8635 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
8636 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
8637 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
8641 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
8642 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
8643 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
8644 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
8645 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
8646 search backward instead.
8648 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
8649 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
8652 @kindex M-& (Summary)
8653 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
8654 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
8655 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
8658 @node Summary Generation Commands
8659 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
8664 @kindex Y g (Summary)
8665 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
8666 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
8669 @kindex Y c (Summary)
8670 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
8671 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
8672 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
8677 @node Really Various Summary Commands
8678 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
8684 @kindex C-d (Summary)
8685 @kindex A D (Summary)
8686 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
8687 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
8688 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
8689 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
8690 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
8691 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
8692 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
8693 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
8697 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
8698 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
8699 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
8700 several documents into one biiig group
8701 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
8702 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
8703 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
8704 command understands the process/prefix convention
8705 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8708 @kindex C-t (Summary)
8709 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
8710 Toggle truncation of summary lines
8711 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
8712 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
8713 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
8717 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
8718 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
8719 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
8722 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
8723 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
8724 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8725 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
8728 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
8729 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
8730 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8731 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
8736 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
8737 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
8738 @cindex summary exit
8739 @cindex exiting groups
8741 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
8742 group and return you to the group buffer.
8748 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
8750 @findex gnus-summary-exit
8751 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
8752 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
8753 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
8754 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
8755 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
8756 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
8757 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
8758 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
8759 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
8760 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
8764 @kindex Z E (Summary)
8766 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
8767 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
8768 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
8772 @kindex Z c (Summary)
8774 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
8775 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
8776 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
8777 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
8780 @kindex Z C (Summary)
8781 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
8782 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
8783 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
8786 @kindex Z n (Summary)
8787 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
8788 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
8789 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
8792 @kindex Z R (Summary)
8793 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
8794 Exit this group, and then enter it again
8795 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
8796 all articles, both read and unread.
8800 @kindex Z G (Summary)
8801 @kindex M-g (Summary)
8802 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
8803 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
8804 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
8805 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
8806 articles, both read and unread.
8809 @kindex Z N (Summary)
8810 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
8811 Exit the group and go to the next group
8812 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
8815 @kindex Z P (Summary)
8816 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
8817 Exit the group and go to the previous group
8818 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
8821 @kindex Z s (Summary)
8822 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
8823 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
8824 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
8825 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
8826 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
8829 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
8830 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
8831 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
8832 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
8834 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
8835 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
8836 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
8837 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
8838 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
8839 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
8840 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
8841 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
8842 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
8843 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
8844 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
8845 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
8847 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
8849 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
8850 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
8851 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
8852 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
8853 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
8854 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
8855 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
8856 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
8857 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
8860 @node Crosspost Handling
8861 @section Crosspost Handling
8865 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
8866 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
8867 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
8868 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
8869 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
8870 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
8873 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
8874 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
8875 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
8876 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
8877 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
8879 @cindex cross-posting
8882 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
8883 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
8884 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
8885 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
8886 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
8887 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
8888 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
8889 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
8890 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
8891 the cross reference mechanism.
8893 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
8894 @cindex overview.fmt
8895 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
8896 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
8897 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
8898 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
8899 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
8900 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
8903 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
8904 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
8905 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
8910 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
8913 @node Duplicate Suppression
8914 @section Duplicate Suppression
8916 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
8917 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
8918 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
8919 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
8924 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
8925 is evil and not very common.
8928 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
8929 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
8932 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
8933 different @sc{nntp} servers.
8936 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
8939 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
8940 well, but these four are the most common situations.
8942 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
8943 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
8944 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
8945 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
8946 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
8947 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
8948 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
8951 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
8952 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
8953 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
8954 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
8955 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
8959 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
8960 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
8961 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
8963 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
8964 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
8965 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
8966 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
8967 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
8968 session are suppressed.
8970 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
8971 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
8972 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
8973 suppression list. The default is 10000.
8975 @item gnus-duplicate-file
8976 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
8977 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
8978 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
8981 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
8982 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
8983 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
8984 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
8985 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
8986 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
8987 to you to figure out, I think.
8990 @node The Article Buffer
8991 @chapter The Article Buffer
8992 @cindex article buffer
8994 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
8995 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
8996 tell Gnus otherwise.
8999 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
9000 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
9001 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
9002 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
9003 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9007 @node Hiding Headers
9008 @section Hiding Headers
9009 @cindex hiding headers
9010 @cindex deleting headers
9012 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9013 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9015 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9016 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9017 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9018 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9019 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9020 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9021 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9022 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9023 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9025 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9029 @item gnus-visible-headers
9030 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9031 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9032 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9033 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9035 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9036 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9039 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9042 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9045 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9046 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9047 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9048 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9049 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9050 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9052 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
9053 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
9056 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9059 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9062 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9063 variable will have no effect.
9067 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9068 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9069 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9070 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9071 the headers are to be displayed.
9073 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9074 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9077 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9080 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9081 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9083 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9084 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9085 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9086 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-header} to @code{head}. What this function
9087 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9088 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9089 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9092 These conditions are:
9095 Remove all empty headers.
9097 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9098 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9100 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9103 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9106 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9109 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9111 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9114 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
9117 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9118 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9121 This is also the default value for this variable.
9125 @section Using @sc{mime}
9128 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9129 while people stand around yawning.
9131 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9132 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9134 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9135 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9136 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9138 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
9139 @findex gnus-display-mime
9140 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
9141 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
9142 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
9143 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
9145 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
9149 @findex gnus-article-press-button
9151 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
9152 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
9153 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
9155 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
9156 @item M-RET (Article)
9158 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9159 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
9161 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
9163 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
9164 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
9166 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
9168 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
9169 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
9171 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
9173 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
9174 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
9176 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
9178 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
9180 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
9182 Insert the raw contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
9183 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}).
9187 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
9188 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
9191 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
9192 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
9193 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
9194 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
9195 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
9196 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
9197 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
9198 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
9199 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
9201 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
9203 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
9206 @node Customizing Articles
9207 @section Customizing Articles
9208 @cindex article customization
9210 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
9211 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
9212 called automatically when you select the articles.
9214 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
9215 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
9216 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
9217 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
9219 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
9220 for sensible values.
9224 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
9227 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
9230 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
9233 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
9236 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
9240 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
9241 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
9242 regexps in the list.
9245 A list where the first element is not a string:
9247 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
9248 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
9249 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
9253 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
9258 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
9259 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
9260 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
9261 considered to contain just a single part.
9263 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
9264 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
9265 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
9266 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
9267 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
9268 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
9269 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
9271 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
9272 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
9273 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
9274 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
9277 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
9278 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
9279 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
9280 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
9281 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
9282 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
9283 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
9284 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
9285 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
9286 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
9287 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
9288 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
9289 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
9290 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
9291 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
9292 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
9293 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
9294 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
9295 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
9296 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
9297 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
9298 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
9299 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
9300 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
9301 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
9302 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
9303 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
9304 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
9305 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
9306 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
9307 @item gnus-treat-translate
9310 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
9311 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
9312 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
9313 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
9314 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
9318 @node Article Keymap
9319 @section Article Keymap
9321 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
9322 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
9323 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
9324 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
9327 A few additional keystrokes are available:
9332 @kindex SPACE (Article)
9333 @findex gnus-article-next-page
9334 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
9337 @kindex DEL (Article)
9338 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
9339 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
9342 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
9343 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
9344 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
9345 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
9346 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
9349 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
9350 @findex gnus-article-mail
9351 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
9352 given a prefix, include the mail.
9356 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
9357 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
9358 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
9362 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
9363 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
9364 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
9367 @kindex TAB (Article)
9368 @findex gnus-article-next-button
9369 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
9370 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
9373 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
9374 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
9375 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
9381 @section Misc Article
9385 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
9386 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
9387 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
9388 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
9391 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
9392 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
9394 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
9395 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
9397 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
9398 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
9399 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
9400 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
9401 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
9402 the contents of the article buffer.
9404 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
9405 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
9406 Hook called in article mode buffers.
9408 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9409 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9410 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
9411 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
9413 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
9414 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
9415 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
9416 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
9417 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
9422 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
9423 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
9426 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
9429 @vindex gnus-break-pages
9431 @item gnus-break-pages
9432 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
9433 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
9434 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
9435 paging will not be done.
9437 @item gnus-page-delimiter
9438 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
9439 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
9444 @node Composing Messages
9445 @chapter Composing Messages
9446 @cindex composing messages
9449 @cindex sending mail
9454 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
9455 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
9456 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
9457 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
9458 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
9459 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
9462 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
9463 * Post:: Posting and following up.
9464 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
9465 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
9466 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
9467 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
9468 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
9469 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
9472 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
9473 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
9479 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
9482 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
9483 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
9484 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
9485 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
9487 @item gnus-add-to-list
9488 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
9489 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
9490 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
9492 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
9493 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
9494 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.
9495 The lower bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message
9496 should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is unlimited.
9504 Variables for composing news articles:
9507 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
9508 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
9509 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
9510 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
9511 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
9512 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
9513 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
9514 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
9515 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
9518 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
9519 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
9520 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
9521 file. It is 1000 by default.
9526 @node Posting Server
9527 @section Posting Server
9529 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
9530 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
9532 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
9534 @vindex gnus-post-method
9536 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
9537 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
9538 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
9539 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
9540 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
9543 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
9546 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
9547 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
9548 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
9549 the ``current'' server for posting.
9551 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
9552 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
9554 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
9555 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
9558 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
9559 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
9560 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
9565 @section Mail and Post
9567 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
9571 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
9572 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
9573 @cindex mailing lists
9575 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
9576 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
9577 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
9578 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
9579 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
9580 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
9581 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
9582 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
9583 still a pain, though.
9587 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
9588 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
9589 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
9592 @findex ispell-message
9594 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
9597 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
9598 you're in, you could say something like the following:
9601 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
9604 ((string-match "^de\\." gnus-newsgroup-name)
9605 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
9607 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
9610 Modify to suit your needs.
9613 @node Archived Messages
9614 @section Archived Messages
9615 @cindex archived messages
9616 @cindex sent messages
9618 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
9619 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
9620 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
9621 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
9624 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
9625 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
9626 use to store sent messages. The default is:
9630 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
9631 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
9632 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
9633 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
9636 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
9637 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
9638 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
9639 directory chosen, you could say something like:
9642 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
9643 '(nnfolder "archive"
9644 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
9645 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
9646 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
9649 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
9651 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
9652 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
9653 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
9655 This variable can be used to do the following:
9659 Messages will be saved in that group.
9660 @item a list of strings
9661 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
9662 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
9663 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
9665 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
9670 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
9672 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
9675 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
9677 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
9680 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
9682 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9683 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
9684 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
9685 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
9690 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9691 '((if (message-news-p)
9696 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
9697 messages in one file per month:
9700 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9701 '((if (message-news-p)
9703 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
9706 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
9707 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
9709 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
9710 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
9711 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
9712 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
9713 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
9714 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
9715 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
9716 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
9717 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
9718 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
9720 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
9721 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
9722 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
9723 this will disable archiving.
9726 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
9727 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
9728 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
9729 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
9730 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
9733 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
9734 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
9735 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
9738 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
9739 but the latter is the preferred method.
9743 @node Posting Styles
9744 @section Posting Styles
9745 @cindex posting styles
9748 All them variables, they make my head swim.
9750 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
9751 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
9752 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
9755 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
9756 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
9757 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
9758 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
9759 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
9764 (signature "Peace and happiness")
9765 (organization "What me?"))
9767 (signature "Death to everybody"))
9768 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
9769 (organization "Emacs is it")))
9772 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
9773 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
9774 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
9775 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
9776 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
9777 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
9778 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
9779 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
9781 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
9782 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
9783 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header that
9784 match the next element in the match, and compare that to the last header
9785 in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function will be called
9786 with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
9787 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
9788 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
9791 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
9792 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} . @var{value})} pair. The
9793 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
9794 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
9795 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
9796 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
9797 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
9798 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
9799 result is thrown away.
9801 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
9802 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
9803 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
9804 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
9805 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
9806 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
9808 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
9809 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
9810 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
9812 @findex message-mail-p
9813 @findex message-news-p
9815 So here's a new example:
9818 (setq gnus-posting-styles
9820 (signature-file "~/.signature")
9822 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
9823 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
9825 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
9826 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
9827 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
9829 (signature my-news-signature))
9830 (header "From.*To" "larsi.*org"
9831 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
9832 ((posting-from-work-p)
9833 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
9834 (address "user@@bar.foo")
9835 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
9836 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
9838 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
9846 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
9847 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
9848 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
9849 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
9850 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
9852 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
9853 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
9854 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
9855 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
9856 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
9860 @vindex nndraft-directory
9861 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
9862 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
9863 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
9864 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
9865 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
9866 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
9868 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
9869 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
9872 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
9873 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
9874 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
9875 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
9876 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
9877 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
9878 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
9879 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
9880 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
9881 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
9882 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
9883 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
9884 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
9885 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
9887 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
9888 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
9889 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
9891 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
9893 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
9894 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
9895 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
9897 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
9900 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
9901 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
9902 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
9903 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
9904 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
9905 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
9906 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
9909 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
9910 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
9911 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
9914 @node Rejected Articles
9915 @section Rejected Articles
9916 @cindex rejected articles
9918 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
9919 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
9920 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
9921 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
9923 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
9924 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
9925 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
9926 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
9927 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
9929 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
9930 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
9931 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
9934 @node Select Methods
9935 @chapter Select Methods
9936 @cindex foreign groups
9937 @cindex select methods
9939 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
9940 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
9941 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
9942 personal mail group.
9944 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
9945 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
9946 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
9947 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
9948 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
9949 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
9951 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
9952 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
9954 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
9957 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
9958 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
9959 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
9960 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
9961 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
9963 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
9966 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
9967 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
9968 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
9969 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
9970 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
9971 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
9972 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
9976 @node The Server Buffer
9977 @section The Server Buffer
9979 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
9980 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
9981 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
9982 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
9983 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
9984 backend represents a virtual server.
9986 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
9987 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
9988 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
9989 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
9991 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
9992 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
9993 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
9994 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
9995 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
9996 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
9997 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
9999 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
10000 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
10003 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
10004 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
10005 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
10006 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
10007 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
10008 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
10009 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
10012 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
10013 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
10016 @node Server Buffer Format
10017 @subsection Server Buffer Format
10018 @cindex server buffer format
10020 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
10021 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
10022 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
10023 variable, with some simple extensions:
10028 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
10031 The name of this server.
10034 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
10037 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
10040 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
10041 The mode line can also be customized by using the
10042 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
10043 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
10053 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
10056 @node Server Commands
10057 @subsection Server Commands
10058 @cindex server commands
10064 @findex gnus-server-add-server
10065 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
10069 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
10070 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
10073 @kindex SPACE (Server)
10074 @findex gnus-server-read-server
10075 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
10079 @findex gnus-server-exit
10080 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
10084 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
10085 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
10089 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
10090 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
10094 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
10095 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
10099 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
10100 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
10104 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
10105 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
10106 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
10111 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
10112 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
10113 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
10114 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
10119 @node Example Methods
10120 @subsection Example Methods
10122 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
10125 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
10128 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
10134 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
10135 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
10138 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
10139 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
10141 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
10142 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
10146 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
10149 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
10150 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
10152 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
10153 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
10154 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
10158 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
10161 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
10164 Here's the method for a public spool:
10168 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
10169 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
10175 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
10176 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
10177 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
10178 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
10179 should probably look something like this:
10183 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
10184 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10185 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10186 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10187 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
10190 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
10191 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
10192 server that would look something like this:
10196 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
10197 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
10198 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10199 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10200 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10201 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
10204 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
10205 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
10206 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
10207 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
10210 @node Creating a Virtual Server
10211 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
10213 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
10214 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
10216 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
10217 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
10218 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
10220 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
10222 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
10223 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
10224 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
10225 will contain the following:
10235 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
10236 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
10237 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
10240 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
10241 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
10242 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
10245 @node Server Variables
10246 @subsection Server Variables
10248 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
10249 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
10250 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
10251 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
10252 won't change the "derived" variables.
10254 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
10255 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
10256 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
10257 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
10258 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
10259 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
10260 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
10261 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
10262 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
10266 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
10267 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
10268 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
10272 @node Servers and Methods
10273 @subsection Servers and Methods
10275 Wherever you would normally use a select method
10276 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
10277 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
10278 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
10282 @node Unavailable Servers
10283 @subsection Unavailable Servers
10285 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
10286 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
10287 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
10288 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
10289 actually the case or not.
10291 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
10292 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
10293 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
10294 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
10295 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
10296 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
10297 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
10298 it will regard that server as ``down''.
10300 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
10301 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
10303 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
10304 with the following commands:
10310 @findex gnus-server-open-server
10311 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
10312 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
10316 @findex gnus-server-close-server
10317 Close the connection (if any) to the server
10318 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
10322 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
10323 Mark the current server as unreachable
10324 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
10327 @kindex M-o (Server)
10328 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
10329 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
10330 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
10333 @kindex M-c (Server)
10334 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
10335 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
10336 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
10340 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
10341 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
10342 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
10348 @section Getting News
10349 @cindex reading news
10350 @cindex news backends
10352 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
10353 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
10354 or it can read from a local spool.
10357 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
10358 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
10363 @subsection @sc{nntp}
10366 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
10367 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
10368 server as the, uhm, address.
10370 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
10371 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
10372 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
10373 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
10375 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
10376 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
10377 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
10379 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
10384 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
10385 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
10386 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
10388 @cindex authentification
10389 @cindex nntp authentification
10390 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10391 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
10392 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
10393 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
10394 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
10395 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
10396 present in this hook.
10398 @item nntp-authinfo-function
10399 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
10400 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10401 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
10402 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
10403 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
10404 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
10405 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
10406 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
10407 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
10408 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
10409 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
10413 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
10416 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
10417 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
10418 @samp{default}, @samp{port} and @samp{force}. (The latter is not a
10419 valid @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} token, which is almost the only way the
10420 @file{.authinfo} file format deviates from the @file{.netrc} file
10425 Here's an example file:
10428 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
10429 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
10432 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
10433 have to be first, for instance.
10435 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
10436 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
10437 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
10438 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
10439 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
10440 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
10441 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
10443 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
10444 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
10450 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
10451 previously mentioned.
10453 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
10455 @item nntp-server-action-alist
10456 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
10457 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
10458 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
10459 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
10462 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
10463 '(("innd" (ding))))
10466 You probably don't want to do that, though.
10468 The default value is
10471 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
10472 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
10475 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
10476 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
10478 @item nntp-maximum-request
10479 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
10480 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
10481 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
10482 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
10483 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
10484 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
10485 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
10487 @item nntp-connection-timeout
10488 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
10489 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
10490 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
10491 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
10492 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
10493 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
10494 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
10495 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
10496 no timeouts are done.
10498 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
10499 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
10500 @c @cindex PPP connections
10501 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
10502 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
10503 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
10504 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
10505 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
10506 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
10507 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
10508 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
10509 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
10510 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
10512 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
10513 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
10514 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
10515 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
10516 @c described above.
10518 @item nntp-server-hook
10519 @vindex nntp-server-hook
10520 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
10523 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
10524 @findex nntp-open-telnet
10525 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
10526 @item nntp-open-connection-function
10527 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
10528 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
10529 functions are supplied:
10532 @item nntp-open-network-stream
10533 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
10536 @item nntp-open-rlogin
10537 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
10538 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
10541 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
10545 @item nntp-rlogin-program
10546 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
10547 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
10548 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
10550 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
10551 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
10552 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
10554 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10555 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10556 User name on the remote system.
10560 @item nntp-open-telnet
10561 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
10562 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
10564 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
10567 @item nntp-telnet-command
10568 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
10569 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
10571 @item nntp-telnet-switches
10572 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
10573 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
10575 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
10576 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
10577 User name for log in on the remote system.
10579 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
10580 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
10581 Password to use when logging in.
10583 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
10584 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
10585 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
10588 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10589 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10590 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
10591 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
10593 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10594 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10595 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
10596 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
10597 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
10601 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
10602 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
10603 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
10604 you must have SSLay installed
10605 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
10606 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
10607 define a server as follows:
10610 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
10612 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
10614 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
10615 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
10616 (nntp-port-number "snews")
10617 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
10622 @item nntp-end-of-line
10623 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
10624 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
10625 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
10626 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
10628 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10629 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10630 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
10634 @vindex nntp-address
10635 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
10637 @item nntp-port-number
10638 @vindex nntp-port-number
10639 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
10642 @item nntp-buggy-select
10643 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
10644 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
10646 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
10647 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
10648 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
10649 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
10652 @item nntp-xover-commands
10653 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
10656 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
10657 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
10661 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
10662 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
10663 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
10664 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
10665 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
10666 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
10667 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
10668 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
10669 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
10670 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
10671 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
10673 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
10674 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
10675 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
10677 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10678 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10679 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
10680 server closes connection.
10682 @item nntp-record-commands
10683 @vindex nntp-record-commands
10684 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
10685 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
10686 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
10687 that doesn't seem to work.
10693 @subsection News Spool
10697 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
10698 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
10699 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
10702 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
10703 anything else) as the address.
10705 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
10706 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
10707 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
10708 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
10712 @item nnspool-inews-program
10713 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
10714 Program used to post an article.
10716 @item nnspool-inews-switches
10717 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
10718 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
10720 @item nnspool-spool-directory
10721 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
10722 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
10723 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
10725 @item nnspool-nov-directory
10726 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
10727 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
10728 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
10730 @item nnspool-lib-dir
10731 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
10732 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
10734 @item nnspool-active-file
10735 @vindex nnspool-active-file
10736 The path to the active file.
10738 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
10739 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
10740 The path to the group descriptions file.
10742 @item nnspool-history-file
10743 @vindex nnspool-history-file
10744 The path to the news history file.
10746 @item nnspool-active-times-file
10747 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
10748 The path to the active date file.
10750 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
10751 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
10752 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
10755 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10756 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10758 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
10759 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
10760 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
10766 @section Getting Mail
10767 @cindex reading mail
10770 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
10774 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
10775 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
10776 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
10777 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
10778 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
10779 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
10780 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
10781 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
10782 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
10783 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
10784 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
10785 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
10786 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
10790 @node Mail in a Newsreader
10791 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
10793 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
10794 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
10795 of a culture shock.
10797 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
10798 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
10800 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
10801 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
10802 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
10803 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
10805 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
10807 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
10808 deleted? How awful!
10810 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
10811 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
10812 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
10813 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
10816 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
10817 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
10818 they want to treat a message.
10820 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
10821 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
10822 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
10823 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
10824 archived somewhere else.
10826 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
10827 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
10828 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
10829 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
10830 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
10832 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
10833 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
10834 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
10836 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
10837 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
10840 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
10841 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
10842 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
10843 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
10844 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
10846 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
10847 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
10848 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
10849 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
10850 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
10851 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
10855 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
10856 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
10858 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
10859 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
10860 and things will happen automatically.
10862 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
10863 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
10866 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
10867 '((nnml "private")))
10870 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
10871 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
10872 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
10873 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
10874 like any other group.
10876 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
10879 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10880 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10881 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
10885 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
10886 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
10887 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
10890 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
10891 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
10892 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
10895 @node Splitting Mail
10896 @subsection Splitting Mail
10897 @cindex splitting mail
10898 @cindex mail splitting
10900 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
10901 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
10902 to be split into groups.
10905 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10906 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10907 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
10908 ("mail.other" "")))
10911 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
10912 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
10913 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
10914 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
10915 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
10916 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
10917 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
10920 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
10923 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
10924 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
10925 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
10926 mail belongs in that group.
10928 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
10929 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
10930 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
10931 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
10932 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
10933 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
10935 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
10936 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
10937 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
10938 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
10939 thinks should carry this mail message.
10941 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
10942 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
10943 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
10944 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
10946 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
10947 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
10948 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
10949 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
10950 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
10952 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
10955 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
10956 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
10957 links. If that's the case for you, set
10958 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
10959 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
10961 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
10962 @kindex nnmail-split-history
10963 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
10964 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
10965 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
10966 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
10969 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
10970 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
10971 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
10972 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
10973 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
10974 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
10975 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
10976 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
10977 month's rent money.
10981 @subsection Mail Sources
10983 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
10984 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
10988 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
10989 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
10990 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
10994 @node Mail Source Specifiers
10995 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
10997 @cindex mail server
11000 @cindex mail source
11002 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
11003 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
11008 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
11011 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
11012 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
11013 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
11016 The following mail source types are available:
11020 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
11026 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
11027 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
11030 An example file mail source:
11033 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
11036 Or using the default path:
11042 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
11043 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
11044 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
11047 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
11051 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
11054 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
11058 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
11061 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
11063 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
11066 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
11070 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
11071 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. Setting
11072 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil force Gnus to
11073 scan the mail source only once.
11079 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
11083 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
11087 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
11088 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
11089 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
11090 predicate are considered.
11094 Script run before/after fetching mail.
11098 An example directory mail source:
11101 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
11106 Get mail from a POP server.
11112 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
11113 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11116 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
11117 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
11118 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
11119 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}.
11122 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
11126 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
11130 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This is should be
11131 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
11134 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
11137 The valid format specifier characters are:
11141 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
11142 included in this string.
11145 The name of the server.
11148 The port number of the server.
11151 The user name to use.
11154 The password to use.
11157 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11158 corresponding keywords.
11161 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11162 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11165 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11166 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11169 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
11170 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
11173 @item :authentication
11174 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
11175 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
11180 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
11181 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
11183 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
11184 default user name, and default fetcher:
11190 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
11193 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
11194 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11197 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
11200 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
11204 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
11205 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
11206 contains exactly one mail.
11212 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
11213 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
11216 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
11217 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
11219 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
11220 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
11221 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
11224 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
11225 from locking problems).
11229 Two example maildir mail sources:
11232 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/" :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
11236 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/" :subdirs ("new"))
11240 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap} as
11241 intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for some
11242 reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server and
11243 fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox.
11249 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
11250 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11253 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
11254 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
11257 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
11261 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
11265 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
11266 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
11267 @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{ssl} or the default @samp{network}.
11269 @item :authentication
11270 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is one
11271 of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now, this
11272 means @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default
11276 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
11277 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
11280 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
11281 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
11282 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
11283 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
11284 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
11285 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
11288 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{Deleted}
11289 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{Seen} which
11290 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
11291 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
11294 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
11295 after finishing the fetch.
11299 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
11302 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com" :stream kerberos4 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
11306 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
11307 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
11309 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
11312 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
11313 required for url "4.0pre.46".
11315 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
11321 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
11322 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
11325 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
11329 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
11333 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
11334 folder after finishing the fetch.
11338 An example webmail source:
11341 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11346 @item Common Keywords
11347 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
11353 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
11354 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
11358 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
11363 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
11364 useful when you use local mail and news.
11369 @subsubheading Function Interface
11371 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
11372 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
11373 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
11374 consider the following mail-source setting:
11377 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
11378 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
11381 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
11382 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
11383 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
11384 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
11385 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
11387 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
11390 @node Mail Source Customization
11391 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
11393 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
11394 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
11398 @item mail-source-crash-box
11399 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
11400 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
11401 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
11403 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
11404 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
11405 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
11407 @item mail-source-directory
11408 @vindex mail-source-directory
11409 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
11410 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
11411 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
11414 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
11415 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
11416 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
11417 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
11418 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
11419 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
11421 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
11422 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
11423 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
11428 @node Fetching Mail
11429 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
11431 @vindex mail-sources
11432 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
11433 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
11434 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
11435 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
11437 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
11438 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
11441 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
11442 mail server, you'd say something like:
11447 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11448 :password "secret")))
11451 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
11455 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
11456 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11459 :password "secret")))
11463 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
11464 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
11465 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
11466 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
11467 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
11468 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
11472 @node Mail Backend Variables
11473 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
11475 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
11479 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11480 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11481 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
11482 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
11484 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
11485 @item nnmail-split-hook
11486 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
11487 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
11488 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
11489 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
11490 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
11491 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
11492 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
11493 in the buffer will show up in any files.
11494 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
11497 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11498 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11499 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11500 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11501 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
11502 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
11503 starting to handle the new mail) and
11504 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
11505 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
11506 default file modes the new mail files get:
11509 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11510 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
11512 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
11513 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
11516 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
11517 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
11518 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
11519 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
11520 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
11521 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
11522 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
11524 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
11525 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
11526 @findex delete-file
11527 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
11529 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11530 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11531 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
11532 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
11533 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
11538 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
11539 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
11540 @cindex mail splitting
11541 @cindex fancy mail splitting
11543 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
11544 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
11545 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
11546 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
11547 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
11548 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
11550 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
11553 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
11554 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
11555 ;; from real errors.
11556 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
11558 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
11559 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
11560 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
11561 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
11562 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
11563 ;; Other mailing lists...
11564 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
11565 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
11566 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
11567 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
11568 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
11569 ;; message was really cross-posted.
11570 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
11571 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
11573 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
11574 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
11578 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
11579 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
11580 the five possible split syntaxes:
11585 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
11586 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
11590 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
11591 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
11592 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
11593 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
11594 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
11595 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
11596 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
11597 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
11600 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11601 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
11602 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
11603 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
11606 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11607 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
11610 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
11611 this message. Use with extreme caution.
11614 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
11615 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
11616 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
11617 function should return a @var{split}.
11619 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
11620 body of the messages:
11623 (defun split-on-body ()
11625 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
11626 (goto-char (point-min))
11627 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
11632 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11633 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
11634 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
11638 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
11642 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
11643 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
11644 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
11645 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
11646 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
11648 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
11649 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
11650 are expanded as specified by the variable
11651 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
11652 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
11655 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
11656 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
11657 when all this splitting is performed.
11659 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
11660 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
11661 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
11664 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
11667 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
11668 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
11670 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
11671 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
11672 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
11673 groupings 1 through 9.
11676 @node Group Mail Splitting
11677 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
11678 @cindex mail splitting
11679 @cindex group mail splitting
11681 @findex gnus-group-split
11682 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
11683 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
11684 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
11685 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
11686 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
11687 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
11688 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
11689 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
11691 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
11692 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
11693 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
11694 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
11696 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
11697 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
11698 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
11699 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
11700 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
11701 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
11702 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
11704 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
11705 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
11706 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
11707 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
11708 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
11709 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
11710 @code{gnus-group-split}.
11712 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
11713 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
11714 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
11715 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
11716 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
11717 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
11718 that group is used as the catch-all group. Note that, in this case,
11719 there's no cross-posting, as a @code{|} fancy split encloses the
11720 @code{&} split and the catch-all group.
11722 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
11727 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
11728 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
11730 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
11731 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
11732 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
11733 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
11735 ((split-spec . catch-all))
11738 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
11739 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
11740 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
11743 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
11744 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
11745 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
11749 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
11750 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
11751 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
11755 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
11758 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
11759 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
11760 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
11761 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} may be the name
11762 of a group to be used as the default catch-all group. If
11763 @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
11764 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
11765 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
11766 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
11768 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
11769 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
11770 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
11771 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
11772 used to select @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
11773 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
11774 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
11775 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
11776 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
11778 @findex gnus-group-split-update
11779 However, if you change group parameters, you have to update
11780 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
11781 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
11782 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
11783 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
11786 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
11789 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
11790 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
11791 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
11792 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional),
11793 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
11796 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
11797 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
11798 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
11799 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
11801 @node Incorporating Old Mail
11802 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
11804 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
11805 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
11806 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
11809 Doing so can be quite easy.
11811 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
11812 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
11813 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
11814 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
11815 your @code{nnml} groups.
11821 Go to the group buffer.
11824 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
11825 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11828 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
11831 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
11832 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
11835 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
11836 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
11839 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
11840 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
11841 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
11842 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
11843 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
11845 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
11846 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
11847 using the new mail backend.
11850 @node Expiring Mail
11851 @subsection Expiring Mail
11852 @cindex article expiry
11854 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
11855 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
11856 different approach to mail reading.
11858 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
11859 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
11860 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
11861 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
11862 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
11863 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
11866 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
11867 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
11868 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
11869 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
11870 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
11871 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
11872 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
11873 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
11875 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
11876 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
11877 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
11878 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
11879 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
11880 column in the summary buffer.
11882 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
11883 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
11884 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
11885 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
11888 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
11890 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
11891 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
11892 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
11895 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
11896 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
11897 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
11898 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
11899 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
11901 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
11902 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
11905 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
11906 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
11909 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
11910 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
11912 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
11913 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
11914 don't really mix very well.
11916 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
11917 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
11918 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
11919 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
11922 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
11923 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
11924 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
11925 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
11928 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
11930 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
11932 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
11934 ((string= group "mail.junk")
11936 ((string= group "important")
11942 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
11943 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
11945 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
11946 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
11947 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
11950 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
11951 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
11953 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
11954 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
11955 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
11956 other groups instead of deleting them. The variable @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
11957 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
11958 variable supplies a default value for all groups, which can be
11959 overridden for specific groups by the group parameter.
11960 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
11961 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
11962 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
11963 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
11964 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
11967 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
11969 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
11973 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
11974 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
11975 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
11976 easier for procmail users.
11978 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
11979 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
11980 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
11981 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
11982 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
11983 caution. Even more dangerous is the
11984 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
11985 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
11986 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
11987 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
11988 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
11989 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
11990 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
11993 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
11995 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
11996 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
11997 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
11998 auto-expire turned on.
12002 @subsection Washing Mail
12003 @cindex mail washing
12004 @cindex list server brain damage
12005 @cindex incoming mail treatment
12007 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
12008 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
12009 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
12010 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
12011 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
12012 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
12014 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
12015 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
12016 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
12019 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
12020 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
12021 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
12022 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
12025 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12026 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12027 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
12028 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
12029 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
12032 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12033 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12034 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
12035 Emacs running on MS machines.
12039 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12040 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12041 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
12042 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
12045 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12046 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12047 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
12048 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
12050 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12051 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12052 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
12053 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
12054 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
12055 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
12056 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
12059 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
12060 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
12063 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
12064 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
12067 This can also be done non-destructively with
12068 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
12070 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
12071 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
12072 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
12074 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12075 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12077 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
12078 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
12079 @code{References} headers.
12083 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12084 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12085 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
12089 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
12090 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
12091 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
12098 @subsection Duplicates
12100 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
12101 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
12102 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
12103 @cindex duplicate mails
12104 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
12105 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
12106 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
12107 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
12108 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
12109 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
12110 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
12111 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
12112 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
12113 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
12114 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
12115 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
12116 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
12118 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
12119 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
12120 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
12121 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
12123 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
12126 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
12127 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
12131 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12132 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
12133 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
12134 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
12135 (any mail "mail.misc")
12142 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12143 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
12148 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
12149 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
12150 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
12151 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
12152 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
12155 @node Not Reading Mail
12156 @subsection Not Reading Mail
12158 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
12159 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
12160 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
12162 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
12163 @code{nil}, none of the backends will ever attempt to read incoming
12164 mail, which should help.
12166 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12167 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12168 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12169 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12170 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12171 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
12172 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
12173 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
12174 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
12175 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
12176 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
12178 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
12179 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
12183 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
12184 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
12186 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
12187 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
12188 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
12190 There are five different mail backends in the standard Gnus, and more
12191 backends are available separately. The mail backend most people use
12192 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
12193 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
12196 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
12197 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
12198 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
12199 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
12200 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
12201 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
12205 @node Unix Mail Box
12206 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
12208 @cindex unix mail box
12210 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12211 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12212 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
12213 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
12214 which group it belongs in.
12216 Virtual server settings:
12219 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
12220 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12221 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
12223 @item nnmbox-active-file
12224 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12225 The name of the active file for the mail box.
12227 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
12228 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12229 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
12235 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
12239 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12240 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12241 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
12242 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
12243 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
12245 Virtual server settings:
12248 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
12249 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12250 The name of the rmail mbox file.
12252 @item nnbabyl-active-file
12253 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12254 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
12256 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12257 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12258 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
12263 @subsubsection Mail Spool
12265 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
12267 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
12268 format. It should be used with some caution.
12270 @vindex nnml-directory
12271 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
12272 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
12273 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
12274 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
12276 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
12279 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
12280 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
12281 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
12282 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
12283 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
12284 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
12285 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
12286 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
12288 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
12289 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
12290 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
12291 backend when it comes to reading mail.
12293 Virtual server settings:
12296 @item nnml-directory
12297 @vindex nnml-directory
12298 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
12300 @item nnml-active-file
12301 @vindex nnml-active-file
12302 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
12304 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
12305 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
12306 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
12309 @item nnml-get-new-mail
12310 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12311 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
12313 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
12314 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
12315 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
12317 @item nnml-nov-file-name
12318 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
12319 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
12321 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12322 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12323 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
12327 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
12328 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
12329 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
12330 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
12331 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
12332 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
12333 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
12338 @subsubsection MH Spool
12340 @cindex mh-e mail spool
12342 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
12343 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
12344 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
12345 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
12347 Virtual server settings:
12350 @item nnmh-directory
12351 @vindex nnmh-directory
12352 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
12354 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
12355 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12356 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
12359 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
12360 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
12361 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
12362 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
12363 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
12364 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
12365 to set this variable to @code{t}.
12370 @subsubsection Mail Folders
12372 @cindex mbox folders
12373 @cindex mail folders
12375 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
12376 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
12377 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
12380 Virtual server settings:
12383 @item nnfolder-directory
12384 @vindex nnfolder-directory
12385 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
12387 @item nnfolder-active-file
12388 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
12389 The name of the active file.
12391 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12392 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12393 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
12395 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
12396 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12397 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
12399 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12400 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12401 @cindex backup files
12402 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
12403 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
12404 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
12405 your @file{.emacs} file:
12408 (defun turn-off-backup ()
12409 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
12411 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
12414 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12415 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12416 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
12417 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
12418 extract some information from it before removing it.
12423 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
12424 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
12425 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
12426 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
12427 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
12428 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
12431 @node Comparing Mail Backends
12432 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Backends
12434 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{backend} is the common word for a
12435 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
12436 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
12437 and so selection of a suitable backend is required in order to get that
12438 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
12440 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
12441 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
12442 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
12443 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
12444 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
12445 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
12446 @code{nnspool} backends, to select between these methods, if one happens
12447 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
12450 The goal in selecting a mail backend is to pick one which
12451 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
12452 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
12453 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
12458 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
12459 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
12460 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
12461 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
12462 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
12463 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
12464 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
12465 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
12466 this backend, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
12467 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
12468 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
12469 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
12470 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
12475 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
12476 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
12477 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
12478 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
12479 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
12480 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
12481 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
12482 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
12483 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
12484 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
12485 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
12486 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
12487 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
12488 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
12490 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
12491 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
12496 @code{nnml} is the backend which smells the most as though you were
12497 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
12498 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
12499 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
12500 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
12501 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
12502 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
12503 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
12504 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
12505 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
12506 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
12507 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
12508 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
12509 provided by the active file and overviews.
12511 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
12512 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
12513 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
12514 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
12515 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
12518 It is also problematic using this backend if you are living in a
12519 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
12524 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
12525 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
12526 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
12527 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
12528 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
12529 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
12530 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
12534 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
12535 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
12536 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
12537 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
12538 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
12539 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
12540 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
12541 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
12542 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
12544 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
12545 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
12546 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
12547 friendly mail backend all over.
12552 @node Browsing the Web
12553 @section Browsing the Web
12555 @cindex browsing the web
12559 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
12560 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
12561 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
12562 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
12563 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
12564 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
12565 even know what a news group is.
12567 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
12568 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
12569 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
12570 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
12571 you mad in the end.
12573 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
12576 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of backends for providing
12577 interfaces to these sources.
12580 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
12581 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
12582 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
12583 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
12584 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
12587 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
12589 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
12590 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
12591 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus backend
12592 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these backends,
12593 though, you should be ok.
12595 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
12596 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
12597 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
12598 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
12599 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
12603 @subsection Web Searches
12607 @cindex InReference
12608 @cindex Usenet searches
12609 @cindex searching the Usenet
12611 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
12612 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
12613 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
12614 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
12615 searches without having to use a browser.
12617 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
12618 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
12619 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
12620 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
12621 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
12623 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
12624 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
12625 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
12626 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
12627 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
12628 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
12629 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
12630 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
12631 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
12632 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
12635 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
12636 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
12637 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
12638 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
12639 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
12640 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
12642 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
12643 to use @code{nnweb}.
12645 Virtual server variables:
12650 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
12651 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
12655 @vindex nnweb-search
12656 The search string to feed to the search engine.
12658 @item nnweb-max-hits
12659 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
12660 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
12663 @item nnweb-type-definition
12664 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
12665 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
12666 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
12671 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
12675 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
12678 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
12681 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
12685 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
12692 @subsection Slashdot
12696 Slashdot (@file{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
12697 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
12698 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
12700 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
12701 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12704 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
12705 '((nnslashdot "")))
12708 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} backend for new comments
12709 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
12710 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
12711 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
12712 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
12715 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
12716 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12718 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
12719 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
12720 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
12721 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
12722 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
12723 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
12726 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
12729 @item nnslashdot-threaded
12730 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
12731 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
12732 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
12733 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
12734 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
12735 but much, much slower than untreaded.
12737 @item nnslashdot-login-name
12738 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
12739 The login name to use when posting.
12741 @item nnslashdot-password
12742 @vindex nnslashdot-password
12743 The password to use when posting.
12745 @item nnslashdot-directory
12746 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
12747 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default value is
12748 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
12750 @item nnslashdot-active-url
12751 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
12752 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
12753 news articles and comments. The default is
12754 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
12756 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
12757 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
12758 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
12760 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
12762 @item nnslashdot-article-url
12763 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
12764 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
12766 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
12768 @item nnslashdot-threshold
12769 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
12770 The score threshold. The default is -1.
12772 @item nnslashdot-group-number
12773 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
12774 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
12775 updated. The default is 0.
12782 @subsection Ultimate
12784 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
12786 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@file{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
12787 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
12788 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
12789 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
12791 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
12792 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
12793 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
12794 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
12795 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
12796 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
12797 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
12799 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
12802 @item nnultimate-directory
12803 @vindex nnultimate-directory
12804 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
12805 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
12810 @subsection Web Archive
12812 @cindex Web Archive
12814 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
12815 @file{http://www.egroups.com/} and
12816 @file{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
12817 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
12820 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
12821 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
12822 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
12823 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
12824 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
12825 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
12826 backend by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
12828 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
12831 @item nnwarchive-directory
12832 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
12833 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
12834 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
12836 @item nnwarchive-login
12837 @vindex nnwarchive-login
12838 The account name on the web server.
12840 @item nnwarchive-passwd
12841 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
12842 The password for your account on the web server.
12846 @node Customizing w3
12847 @subsection Customizing w3
12853 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
12854 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
12855 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
12857 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
12858 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
12859 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
12862 (eval-after-load "w3"
12864 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
12865 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
12866 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
12867 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
12869 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
12872 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
12873 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
12877 @node Other Sources
12878 @section Other Sources
12880 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
12881 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
12885 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
12886 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
12887 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
12888 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
12889 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
12890 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
12894 @node Directory Groups
12895 @subsection Directory Groups
12897 @cindex directory groups
12899 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
12900 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
12903 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
12904 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
12905 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
12906 backend to read directories. Big deal.
12908 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
12909 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
12910 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
12911 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
12912 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
12914 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
12916 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
12917 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
12918 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
12919 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
12922 @node Anything Groups
12923 @subsection Anything Groups
12926 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
12927 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
12928 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
12931 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
12932 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
12933 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
12934 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
12935 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
12936 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
12937 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
12938 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
12939 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
12940 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
12943 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
12944 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
12945 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
12946 in the article buffer, just as usual.
12948 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
12949 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
12950 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
12951 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
12953 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
12954 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
12955 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
12956 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
12957 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
12958 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
12959 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
12960 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
12965 @item nneething-map-file-directory
12966 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
12967 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
12968 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
12970 @item nneething-exclude-files
12971 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
12972 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
12973 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
12975 @item nneething-include-files
12976 @vindex nneething-include-files
12977 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
12978 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
12980 @item nneething-map-file
12981 @vindex nneething-map-file
12982 Name of the map files.
12986 @node Document Groups
12987 @subsection Document Groups
12989 @cindex documentation group
12992 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
12993 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
13000 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
13005 The standard Unix mbox file.
13007 @cindex MMDF mail box
13009 The MMDF mail box format.
13012 Several news articles appended into a file.
13015 @cindex rnews batch files
13016 The rnews batch transport format.
13017 @cindex forwarded messages
13020 Forwarded articles.
13023 Netscape mail boxes.
13026 MIME multipart messages.
13028 @item standard-digest
13029 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
13032 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
13035 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
13036 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
13037 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
13040 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
13041 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
13042 group. And that's it.
13044 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
13045 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
13046 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
13047 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
13048 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
13049 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
13050 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
13051 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
13052 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
13053 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
13055 Virtual server variables:
13058 @item nndoc-article-type
13059 @vindex nndoc-article-type
13060 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
13061 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
13062 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
13063 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} or @code{guess}.
13065 @item nndoc-post-type
13066 @vindex nndoc-post-type
13067 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
13068 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
13073 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
13077 @node Document Server Internals
13078 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
13080 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
13081 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
13082 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
13083 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
13085 First, here's an example document type definition:
13089 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
13090 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
13093 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
13094 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
13095 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
13096 types can be defined with very few settings:
13099 @item first-article
13100 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
13101 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
13104 @item article-begin
13105 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
13106 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
13108 @item head-begin-function
13109 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
13112 @item nndoc-head-begin
13113 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
13116 @item nndoc-head-end
13117 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
13118 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
13120 @item body-begin-function
13121 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
13125 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
13128 @item body-end-function
13129 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
13133 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
13136 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
13137 regexp will be totally ignored.
13141 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
13142 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
13143 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
13144 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
13145 something that's palatable for Gnus:
13148 @item prepare-body-function
13149 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
13150 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
13151 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
13153 @item article-transform-function
13154 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
13155 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
13156 body of the article.
13158 @item generate-head-function
13159 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
13160 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
13161 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
13162 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
13166 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
13171 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13172 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13173 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
13174 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
13175 (head-end . "^ ?$")
13176 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
13177 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
13178 (subtype digest guess))
13181 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
13182 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
13183 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
13184 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
13185 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
13187 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
13188 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
13189 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
13190 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
13191 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
13192 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
13193 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
13194 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
13195 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
13196 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
13204 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
13205 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
13206 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
13208 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
13209 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
13210 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
13213 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
13214 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
13215 that interested in doing things properly.
13217 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
13218 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
13221 First some terminology:
13226 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
13227 get news and/or mail from.
13230 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
13231 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
13234 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
13238 @item message packets
13239 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
13240 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
13241 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13243 @item response packets
13244 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
13245 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
13246 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13256 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
13257 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
13258 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
13259 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
13262 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
13265 You put the packet in your home directory.
13268 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
13269 the native or secondary server.
13272 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
13273 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
13276 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
13280 You transfer this packet to the server.
13283 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
13286 You then repeat until you die.
13290 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
13291 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
13294 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
13295 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
13296 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
13300 @node SOUP Commands
13301 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
13303 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
13307 @kindex G s b (Group)
13308 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
13309 Pack all unread articles in the current group
13310 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
13311 process/prefix convention.
13314 @kindex G s w (Group)
13315 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
13316 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
13319 @kindex G s s (Group)
13320 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
13321 Send all replies from the replies packet
13322 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
13325 @kindex G s p (Group)
13326 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
13327 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
13330 @kindex G s r (Group)
13331 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
13332 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
13335 @kindex O s (Summary)
13336 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
13337 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
13338 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
13339 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13344 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
13349 @item gnus-soup-directory
13350 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
13351 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
13352 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
13354 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
13355 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
13356 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
13357 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
13359 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
13360 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
13361 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
13362 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
13364 @item gnus-soup-packer
13365 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
13366 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13367 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
13369 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
13370 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
13371 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13372 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13374 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
13375 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
13376 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
13378 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13379 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13380 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
13381 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
13387 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
13390 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
13391 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
13392 you can read them at leisure.
13394 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
13398 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
13399 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
13400 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
13401 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
13403 @item nnsoup-directory
13404 @vindex nnsoup-directory
13405 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
13406 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
13408 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
13409 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
13410 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
13411 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
13413 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
13414 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
13415 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
13416 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
13417 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
13419 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
13420 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
13421 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
13422 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
13424 @item nnsoup-active-file
13425 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
13426 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
13427 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
13428 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
13429 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
13431 @item nnsoup-packer
13432 @vindex nnsoup-packer
13433 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
13434 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
13436 @item nnsoup-unpacker
13437 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
13438 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
13439 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13441 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
13442 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
13443 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
13446 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
13447 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
13448 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
13451 @item nnsoup-always-save
13452 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
13453 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
13459 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
13461 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
13462 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
13463 more for that to happen.
13465 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
13466 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
13467 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
13470 In specific, this is what it does:
13473 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
13474 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
13477 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
13478 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
13479 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
13482 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
13483 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
13484 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
13487 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
13488 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
13489 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
13491 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
13497 @item nngateway-address
13498 @vindex nngateway-address
13499 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
13501 @item nngateway-header-transformation
13502 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
13503 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
13504 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
13505 transformation should be called, and defaults to
13506 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
13507 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
13510 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
13511 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
13512 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
13515 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
13518 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
13521 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
13524 The following pre-defined functions exist:
13526 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13529 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13530 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13531 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
13533 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13535 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13536 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13537 @code{nngateway-address}.
13542 (setq gnus-post-method
13543 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
13544 (nngateway-header-transformation
13545 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
13553 So, to use this, simply say something like:
13556 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
13562 @subsection @sc{imap}
13566 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
13567 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap} server
13568 is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just specify the
13569 network address of the server.
13571 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
13576 @item nnimap-address
13577 @vindex nnimap-address
13579 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
13580 server name if not specified.
13582 @item nnimap-server-port
13583 @vindex nnimap-server-port
13584 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
13586 Note that this should be a integer, example server specification:
13589 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13590 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
13593 @item nnimap-list-pattern
13594 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
13595 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
13596 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
13597 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
13598 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
13599 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
13601 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
13602 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
13603 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
13606 Example server specification:
13609 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13610 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
13611 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
13614 @item nnimap-stream
13615 @vindex nnimap-stream
13616 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
13617 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
13618 of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
13619 detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
13621 Example server specification:
13624 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13625 (nnimap-stream ssl))
13628 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
13632 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Require the
13633 @samp{imtest} program.
13635 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Require the @samp{imtest} program.
13637 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
13638 SSL). Require the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13641 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Require OpenSSL (the
13642 program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
13644 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start IMAP connection.
13646 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
13649 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
13650 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD, nnimap support
13651 both @samp{imtest} version 1.5.x and version 1.6.x. The variable
13652 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
13655 @vindex imap-ssl-program
13656 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
13657 @file{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
13658 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
13659 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
13660 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
13661 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
13664 @vindex imap-shell-program
13665 @vindex imap-shell-host
13666 For IMAP connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
13667 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
13669 @item nnimap-authenticator
13670 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
13672 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
13673 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
13675 Example server specification:
13678 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13679 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
13682 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
13686 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
13687 external program @code{imtest}.
13689 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
13692 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
13693 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
13695 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
13697 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
13699 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
13702 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
13704 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
13705 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
13706 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
13707 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
13708 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
13709 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
13712 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
13713 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
13714 running in circles yet?
13716 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
13717 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
13720 The possible options are:
13725 The default behaviour, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
13728 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
13729 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
13730 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
13731 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
13733 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
13738 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
13739 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
13741 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format
13742 is (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See
13743 `nntp-authinfo-file' for exact syntax.
13745 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
13746 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
13747 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
13753 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
13754 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
13755 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
13760 @node Splitting in IMAP
13761 @subsubsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
13762 @cindex splitting imap mail
13764 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
13765 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
13766 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
13767 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
13768 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
13772 Here are the variables of interest:
13776 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
13777 @cindex splitting, crosspost
13779 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
13781 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
13782 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
13784 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
13786 @item nnimap-split-inbox
13787 @cindex splitting, inbox
13789 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
13791 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
13792 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
13796 (setq nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
13799 No nnmail equivalent.
13801 @item nnimap-split-rule
13802 @cindex Splitting, rules
13803 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
13805 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
13808 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
13809 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
13810 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
13811 Neither did I, we need examples.
13814 (setq nnimap-split-rule
13815 '(("INBOX.nnimap" "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
13816 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
13817 ("INBOX.private" "")))
13820 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
13821 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
13822 into INBOX.spam and everything else in INBOX.private.
13824 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
13825 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
13829 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
13832 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13833 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
13834 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
13835 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
13837 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
13838 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
13839 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
13840 of your inbox. (This might might affect performance if you keep lots of
13841 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
13842 them every time you fetch new mail.)
13844 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
13845 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
13846 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
13848 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
13849 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
13850 thinks the article should be splitted to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
13852 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
13854 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
13855 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
13856 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
13859 (setq nnimap-split-rule
13860 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
13861 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
13862 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
13863 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
13864 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
13867 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
13868 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
13869 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
13870 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
13871 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
13872 group/function elements.
13874 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
13876 @item nnimap-split-predicate
13878 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
13880 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
13881 splitted, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
13883 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
13884 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
13885 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
13888 @item nnimap-split-fancy
13889 @cindex splitting, fancy
13890 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
13891 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
13893 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
13894 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
13895 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
13897 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
13898 nnimap backends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
13899 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
13900 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
13905 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
13906 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
13909 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
13913 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
13914 @subsubsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
13915 @cindex editing imap acls
13916 @cindex Access Control Lists
13917 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
13919 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
13921 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
13922 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
13923 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
13926 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
13927 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
13928 editing window with detailed instructions.
13930 Some possible uses:
13934 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
13935 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
13936 follow the list without subscribing to it.
13938 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
13939 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
13940 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
13944 @node Expunging mailboxes
13945 @subsubsection Expunging mailboxes
13949 @cindex Manual expunging
13951 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
13953 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-close},
13954 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
13955 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
13957 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
13962 @node Combined Groups
13963 @section Combined Groups
13965 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
13969 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
13970 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
13974 @node Virtual Groups
13975 @subsection Virtual Groups
13977 @cindex virtual groups
13978 @cindex merging groups
13980 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
13983 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
13984 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
13985 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
13987 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
13988 regexp to match component groups.
13990 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
13991 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
13992 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
13993 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
13994 the virtual group.)
13996 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
13997 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
14000 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
14003 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
14004 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
14006 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
14007 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
14008 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
14009 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
14012 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
14015 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
14016 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
14017 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
14019 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
14020 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
14021 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
14022 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
14023 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
14025 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
14026 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
14027 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
14029 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
14030 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
14031 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
14032 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
14033 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
14034 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
14035 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
14036 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
14037 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
14038 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
14039 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
14041 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
14042 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
14043 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
14044 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
14045 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
14046 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
14047 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
14049 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
14050 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
14054 @node Kibozed Groups
14055 @subsection Kibozed Groups
14059 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
14060 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
14061 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
14062 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
14064 @kindex G k (Group)
14065 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
14068 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
14069 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
14070 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
14071 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
14073 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
14074 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
14075 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
14077 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
14078 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
14079 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
14080 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
14081 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
14082 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
14083 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
14084 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
14086 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
14087 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
14088 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
14089 Stranger things have happened.
14091 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
14092 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
14094 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
14095 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
14096 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
14097 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
14098 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
14099 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
14101 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
14102 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
14105 @node Gnus Unplugged
14106 @section Gnus Unplugged
14111 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
14113 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
14114 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
14115 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
14116 read news. Believe it or not.
14118 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
14119 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
14120 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
14121 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
14122 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
14124 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
14125 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
14126 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
14127 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
14128 reading news on a machine.
14130 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
14134 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
14135 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
14139 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
14140 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14147 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
14149 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
14152 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
14153 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
14154 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
14155 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
14156 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
14157 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
14158 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
14159 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
14160 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
14165 @subsection Agent Basics
14167 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
14169 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
14170 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
14171 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
14172 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
14174 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
14175 connected to the net continuously.
14177 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
14178 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
14180 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
14185 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
14186 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
14187 already fetched while in this mode.
14190 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
14191 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
14192 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
14193 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
14194 Source Specifiers}).
14197 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
14198 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
14199 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
14200 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
14201 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
14204 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
14205 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
14206 then you read the news offline.
14209 And then you go to step 2.
14212 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
14218 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
14219 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
14220 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
14221 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
14222 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
14223 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
14226 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
14233 @node Agent Categories
14234 @subsection Agent Categories
14236 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
14237 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
14238 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
14239 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
14240 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
14241 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
14242 you're interested in the articles anyway.
14244 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
14245 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
14246 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
14247 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
14248 managing categories.
14251 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
14252 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
14253 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
14257 @node Category Syntax
14258 @subsubsection Category Syntax
14260 A category consists of two things.
14264 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
14265 are eligible for downloading; and
14268 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
14269 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
14270 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
14273 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
14274 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
14275 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
14276 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
14278 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
14279 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
14280 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as descibed below.
14282 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
14283 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
14284 operators sprinkled in between.
14286 Perhaps some examples are in order.
14288 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
14289 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
14295 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
14296 short (for some value of ``short'').
14298 Here's a more complex predicate:
14307 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
14308 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
14311 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
14312 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
14313 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
14315 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
14316 you want to do, you can write your own.
14320 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
14321 lines; default 100.
14324 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
14325 lines; default 200.
14328 True iff the article has a download score less than
14329 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
14332 True iff the article has a download score greater than
14333 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
14336 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
14337 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
14338 checksum and sees whether articles match.
14347 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
14348 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
14349 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
14352 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
14353 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
14354 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
14355 something along the lines of the following:
14358 (defun my-article-old-p ()
14359 "Say whether an article is old."
14360 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
14361 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
14364 with the predicate then defined as:
14367 (not my-article-old-p)
14370 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
14371 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
14372 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
14373 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
14376 (defvar gnus-category-predicate-alist
14377 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
14378 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
14381 and simply specify your predicate as:
14387 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
14388 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
14389 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
14390 just don't give a damm.
14392 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
14393 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
14394 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
14395 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
14396 parameters like so:
14399 (agent-predicate . short)
14402 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
14403 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
14404 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
14406 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
14409 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
14412 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
14413 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
14414 predicate is assumed to be a list.
14417 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
14418 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
14419 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
14420 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
14421 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
14422 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
14424 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
14425 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
14426 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
14427 if it's to be specific to that group.
14429 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
14436 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
14437 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
14443 Category specification
14447 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14453 Group Parameter specification
14456 (agent-score ("from"
14457 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14462 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
14468 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
14475 Category specification
14478 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
14484 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
14488 Group Parameter specification
14491 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
14494 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
14499 Use @code{normal} score files
14501 If you dont want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
14502 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
14503 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
14504 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
14506 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
14507 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
14508 files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
14509 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
14513 Category Specification
14520 Group Parameter specification
14523 (agent-score . file)
14528 @node The Category Buffer
14529 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
14531 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
14532 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
14533 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
14535 The following commands are available in this buffer:
14539 @kindex q (Category)
14540 @findex gnus-category-exit
14541 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
14544 @kindex k (Category)
14545 @findex gnus-category-kill
14546 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
14549 @kindex c (Category)
14550 @findex gnus-category-copy
14551 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
14554 @kindex a (Category)
14555 @findex gnus-category-add
14556 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
14559 @kindex p (Category)
14560 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
14561 Edit the predicate of the current category
14562 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
14565 @kindex g (Category)
14566 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
14567 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
14568 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
14571 @kindex s (Category)
14572 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
14573 Edit the download score rule of the current category
14574 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
14577 @kindex l (Category)
14578 @findex gnus-category-list
14579 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
14583 @node Category Variables
14584 @subsubsection Category Variables
14587 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
14588 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
14589 Hook run in category buffers.
14591 @item gnus-category-line-format
14592 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
14593 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
14594 Variables}). Valid elements are:
14598 The name of the category.
14601 The number of groups in the category.
14604 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
14605 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
14606 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
14608 @item gnus-agent-short-article
14609 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
14610 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
14612 @item gnus-agent-long-article
14613 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
14614 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
14616 @item gnus-agent-low-score
14617 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
14618 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
14621 @item gnus-agent-high-score
14622 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
14623 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
14629 @node Agent Commands
14630 @subsection Agent Commands
14632 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
14633 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
14634 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
14638 * Group Agent Commands::
14639 * Summary Agent Commands::
14640 * Server Agent Commands::
14643 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
14644 following incantation:
14646 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14648 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14653 @node Group Agent Commands
14654 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
14658 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
14659 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
14660 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
14661 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
14664 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
14665 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
14666 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
14669 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
14670 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
14671 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
14672 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
14675 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
14676 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
14677 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
14678 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
14681 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
14682 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
14683 Add the current group to an Agent category
14684 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
14685 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14688 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
14689 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
14690 Remove the current group from its category, if any
14691 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
14692 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14697 @node Summary Agent Commands
14698 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
14702 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
14703 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
14704 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
14707 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
14708 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
14709 Remove the downloading mark from the article
14710 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
14713 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
14714 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
14715 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
14718 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
14719 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
14720 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
14725 @node Server Agent Commands
14726 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
14730 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
14731 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
14732 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
14733 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
14736 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
14737 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
14738 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
14739 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
14745 @subsection Agent Expiry
14747 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
14748 @findex gnus-agent-expire
14749 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
14750 @cindex Agent expiry
14751 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
14754 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
14755 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
14756 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
14757 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
14758 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
14759 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
14761 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
14762 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
14763 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
14764 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
14765 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
14768 @node Outgoing Messages
14769 @subsection Outgoing Messages
14771 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
14772 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
14773 after posting, and edit them at will.
14775 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
14776 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
14777 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
14778 messages in the draft group.
14782 @node Agent Variables
14783 @subsection Agent Variables
14786 @item gnus-agent-directory
14787 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
14788 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
14789 @file{~/News/agent/}.
14791 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
14792 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
14793 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
14794 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
14795 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
14798 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
14799 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
14800 Hook run when connecting to the network.
14802 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
14803 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
14804 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
14809 @node Example Setup
14810 @subsection Example Setup
14812 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
14813 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
14814 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
14817 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
14818 ;;; from your ISP's server.
14819 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
14821 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
14822 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
14823 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
14825 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
14826 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
14828 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
14832 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
14833 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
14836 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
14837 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
14838 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
14839 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
14840 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
14843 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
14844 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
14845 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
14846 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
14847 back all the killed groups.)
14849 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
14850 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
14851 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
14854 @node Batching Agents
14855 @subsection Batching Agents
14857 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
14858 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
14859 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
14863 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
14867 @node Agent Caveats
14868 @subsection Agent Caveats
14870 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
14871 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
14875 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
14880 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
14881 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
14887 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
14888 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
14895 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
14896 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
14897 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
14900 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
14901 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
14902 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
14903 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
14904 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
14906 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
14907 before generating the summary buffer.
14909 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
14910 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
14911 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
14913 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
14914 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
14915 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
14916 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
14919 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
14920 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
14921 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
14922 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
14923 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
14924 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
14925 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
14926 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
14927 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
14928 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
14929 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
14930 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
14931 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
14932 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
14933 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
14937 @node Summary Score Commands
14938 @section Summary Score Commands
14939 @cindex score commands
14941 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
14942 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
14943 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
14944 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
14945 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
14947 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
14948 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
14949 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
14950 score file the current one.
14952 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
14957 @kindex V s (Summary)
14958 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
14959 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
14962 @kindex V S (Summary)
14963 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
14964 Display the score of the current article
14965 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
14968 @kindex V t (Summary)
14969 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
14970 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
14971 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
14974 @kindex V R (Summary)
14975 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
14976 Run the current summary through the scoring process
14977 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
14978 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
14979 effect you're having.
14982 @kindex V c (Summary)
14983 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
14984 Make a different score file the current
14985 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
14988 @kindex V e (Summary)
14989 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
14990 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
14991 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
14995 @kindex V f (Summary)
14996 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
14997 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
14998 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
15001 @kindex V F (Summary)
15002 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15003 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
15004 after editing score files.
15007 @kindex V C (Summary)
15008 @findex gnus-score-customize
15009 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
15010 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
15014 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
15019 @kindex V m (Summary)
15020 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
15021 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
15022 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
15025 @kindex V x (Summary)
15026 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
15027 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
15028 expunge all articles below this score
15029 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
15032 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
15033 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
15036 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
15037 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
15041 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
15042 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
15044 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
15045 keys are available:
15049 Score on the author name.
15052 Score on the subject line.
15055 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
15058 Score on the @code{References} line.
15064 Score on the number of lines.
15067 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
15070 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
15071 the followups to this author.
15085 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
15086 what headers you are scoring on.
15098 Substring matching.
15101 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
15130 Greater than number.
15135 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
15136 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
15137 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
15141 Temporary score entry.
15144 Permanent score entry.
15147 Immediately scoring.
15152 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
15153 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
15154 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
15155 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
15157 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
15158 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
15159 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
15160 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
15161 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
15163 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
15164 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
15165 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
15166 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
15167 current score file.
15169 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
15170 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
15171 pretend they are keymaps or not.
15174 @node Group Score Commands
15175 @section Group Score Commands
15176 @cindex group score commands
15178 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
15183 @kindex W f (Group)
15184 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15185 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
15186 all the time. This command will flush the cache
15187 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
15191 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
15193 @findex gnus-batch-score
15194 @cindex batch scoring
15196 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
15200 @node Score Variables
15201 @section Score Variables
15202 @cindex score variables
15206 @item gnus-use-scoring
15207 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
15208 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
15209 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
15211 @item gnus-kill-killed
15212 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
15213 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
15214 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
15215 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
15216 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
15217 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
15218 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
15220 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
15221 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
15222 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
15223 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
15224 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
15226 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
15227 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
15228 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
15229 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
15231 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15232 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15233 @cindex score cache
15234 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
15235 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
15236 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
15237 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
15238 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
15239 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
15242 @item gnus-save-score
15243 @vindex gnus-save-score
15244 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
15245 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
15246 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
15248 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
15249 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
15250 across group visits.
15252 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15253 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15254 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
15255 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
15256 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
15257 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
15258 manually entered data.
15260 @item gnus-summary-default-score
15261 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
15262 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
15264 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
15265 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
15266 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
15267 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
15268 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
15269 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
15271 @item gnus-score-over-mark
15272 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
15273 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
15274 default. Default is @samp{+}.
15276 @item gnus-score-below-mark
15277 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
15278 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
15279 default. Default is @samp{-}.
15281 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15282 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15283 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
15284 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
15286 Predefined functions available are:
15289 @item gnus-score-find-single
15290 @findex gnus-score-find-single
15291 Only apply the group's own score file.
15293 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
15294 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
15295 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
15296 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
15297 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
15298 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
15299 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
15300 then a regexp match is done.
15302 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
15303 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
15305 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
15306 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
15307 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
15308 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
15310 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15311 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15312 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
15313 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
15314 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
15318 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
15319 functions will be called with the group name as argument, and all the
15320 returned lists of score files will be applied. These functions can also
15321 return lists of score alists directly. In that case, the functions that
15322 return these non-file score alists should probably be placed before the
15323 ``real'' score file functions, to ensure that the last score file
15324 returned is the local score file. Phu.
15326 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
15327 overall score file, you could use the value
15329 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE")) 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
15332 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
15333 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
15334 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
15335 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
15336 are expired. It's 7 by default.
15338 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15339 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15340 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
15341 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
15342 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
15343 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
15344 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
15347 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15348 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15349 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
15351 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
15352 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
15353 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
15354 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
15355 threading---according to the current value of
15356 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
15357 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
15358 simplified in this manner.
15363 @node Score File Format
15364 @section Score File Format
15365 @cindex score file format
15367 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
15368 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
15369 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
15371 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
15375 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
15377 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
15379 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
15381 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
15386 (mark-and-expunge -10)
15390 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
15391 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
15392 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
15393 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
15397 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
15398 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
15400 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
15401 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
15402 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
15404 Six keys are supported by this alist:
15409 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
15410 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
15411 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
15412 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
15413 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
15414 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
15415 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
15416 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
15417 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
15418 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
15419 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
15420 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
15421 to articles that matches these score entries.
15423 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
15424 score entry has one to four elements.
15428 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
15429 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
15433 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
15434 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
15435 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
15436 is successful. If this element is not present, the
15437 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
15438 instead. This is 1000 by default.
15441 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
15442 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
15443 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
15444 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
15445 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
15448 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
15449 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
15450 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
15451 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
15454 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
15455 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
15456 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
15457 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
15458 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
15459 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
15460 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
15461 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
15462 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
15463 instead, if you feel like.
15466 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
15467 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
15469 These predicates are true if
15472 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
15475 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
15476 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
15483 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
15484 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
15485 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
15486 it's not. I think.)
15488 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
15489 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
15490 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
15491 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
15494 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
15495 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
15496 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
15497 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
15498 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
15499 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
15500 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
15504 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
15505 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
15506 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
15507 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
15508 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
15509 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
15510 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
15511 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
15514 @item Head, Body, All
15515 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
15519 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
15520 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
15521 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
15522 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
15523 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
15524 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
15525 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
15529 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
15530 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
15531 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
15532 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
15533 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
15534 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
15535 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
15536 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
15537 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
15538 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
15539 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
15543 @cindex Score File Atoms
15545 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15546 lower than this number will be marked as read.
15549 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15550 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
15552 @item mark-and-expunge
15553 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15554 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
15557 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
15558 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
15559 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
15560 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
15561 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
15564 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
15565 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
15568 @item exclude-files
15569 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
15570 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
15574 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
15575 ignored when handling global score files.
15578 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
15579 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
15580 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
15581 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
15584 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
15585 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
15586 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
15587 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
15589 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
15593 (mark-and-expunge -100)
15596 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
15597 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
15598 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
15599 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
15600 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
15602 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
15603 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
15604 ordinary scoring rules.
15607 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
15608 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
15609 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
15610 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
15611 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
15612 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
15613 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
15614 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
15615 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
15616 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
15617 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
15621 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
15622 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
15623 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
15624 file for a number of groups.
15627 @cindex local variables
15628 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
15629 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
15630 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
15631 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
15632 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
15636 @node Score File Editing
15637 @section Score File Editing
15639 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
15640 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
15641 with a mode for that.
15643 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
15644 additional commands:
15649 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
15650 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
15651 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
15652 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
15655 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
15656 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
15657 Insert the current date in numerical format
15658 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
15659 you were wondering.
15662 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
15663 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
15664 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
15665 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
15666 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
15671 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
15673 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
15674 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
15676 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
15677 e} to begin editing score files.
15680 @node Adaptive Scoring
15681 @section Adaptive Scoring
15682 @cindex adaptive scoring
15684 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
15685 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
15686 stupidity, to be precise.
15688 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
15689 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
15690 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
15691 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
15692 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
15693 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
15694 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
15695 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
15696 variable to @code{(word line)}.
15698 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
15699 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
15700 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
15701 might look something like this:
15704 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
15705 '((gnus-unread-mark)
15706 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
15707 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
15708 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
15709 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
15710 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
15711 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
15712 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
15713 (gnus-ancient-mark)
15714 (gnus-low-score-mark)
15715 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
15718 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
15719 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
15720 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
15721 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
15722 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
15723 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
15726 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
15727 will be applied to each article.
15729 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
15730 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
15731 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
15732 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
15734 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
15735 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
15736 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
15737 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
15739 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
15740 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
15741 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
15742 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
15744 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
15745 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
15746 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
15747 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
15748 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
15749 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
15751 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
15752 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
15753 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
15754 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
15755 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
15756 aspirins afterwards.)
15758 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
15759 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
15760 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
15762 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
15763 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
15764 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
15766 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
15767 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
15768 let you use different rules in different groups.
15770 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
15771 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
15772 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
15775 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
15776 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
15777 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
15778 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
15779 the length of the match is less than
15780 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
15781 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
15784 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
15785 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
15786 headers. If you adapt on words, the
15787 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
15788 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
15791 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
15792 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
15793 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
15794 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
15795 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
15798 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
15799 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
15800 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
15801 score with 30 points.
15803 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
15804 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
15805 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
15806 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
15807 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
15809 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
15810 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
15811 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
15812 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
15814 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
15815 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
15816 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
15817 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
15819 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
15820 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
15821 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
15822 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
15823 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
15825 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
15826 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
15827 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
15829 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
15830 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
15831 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
15832 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
15835 @node Home Score File
15836 @section Home Score File
15838 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
15839 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
15840 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
15841 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
15843 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
15844 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
15845 could perhaps use the same home score file.
15847 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
15848 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
15853 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
15857 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
15858 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
15862 A list. The elements in this list can be:
15866 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
15867 group name, the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
15870 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
15871 the home score file.
15874 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
15877 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
15882 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
15885 (setq gnus-home-score-file
15886 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
15889 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
15890 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
15892 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
15894 (setq gnus-home-score-file
15895 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
15898 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
15899 Other functions include
15902 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
15903 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
15904 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
15905 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
15909 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
15910 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
15911 their own home score files:
15914 (setq gnus-home-score-file
15915 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
15916 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
15917 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
15918 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
15921 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
15922 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
15923 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
15924 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
15925 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
15927 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
15928 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
15929 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
15930 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
15931 precedence over this variable.
15934 @node Followups To Yourself
15935 @section Followups To Yourself
15937 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
15938 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
15939 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
15940 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
15941 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
15942 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
15946 @item gnus-score-followup-article
15947 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
15948 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
15951 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
15952 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
15953 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
15957 @vindex message-sent-hook
15958 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
15959 @code{message-sent-hook}.
15961 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
15962 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
15966 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
15967 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
15970 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
15971 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
15976 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
15980 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
15981 is system-dependent.
15985 @section Scoring Tips
15986 @cindex scoring tips
15992 @cindex scoring crossposts
15993 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
15994 the @code{Xref} header.
15996 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
15999 @item Multiple crossposts
16000 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
16001 more than, say, 3 groups:
16003 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
16006 @item Matching on the body
16007 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
16008 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
16009 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
16010 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
16011 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
16012 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
16013 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
16016 @item Marking as read
16017 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
16018 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
16019 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
16023 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
16025 @item Negated character classes
16026 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
16027 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
16028 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
16032 @node Reverse Scoring
16033 @section Reverse Scoring
16034 @cindex reverse scoring
16036 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
16037 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
16038 like this in your score file:
16042 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
16047 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
16048 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
16051 @node Global Score Files
16052 @section Global Score Files
16053 @cindex global score files
16055 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
16056 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
16057 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
16059 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
16060 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
16061 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
16063 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
16064 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
16065 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
16066 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
16067 files are applicable to which group.
16069 Say you want to use the score file
16070 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
16071 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
16074 (setq gnus-global-score-files
16075 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
16076 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
16079 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
16080 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
16081 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
16082 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
16083 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
16085 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
16086 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
16088 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
16089 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
16090 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
16091 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
16092 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
16093 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
16095 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
16101 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
16103 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
16105 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
16107 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
16108 lowered out of existence.
16110 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
16111 articles completely.
16114 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
16115 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
16116 old articles for a long time.
16119 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
16120 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
16121 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
16122 holding our breath yet?
16126 @section Kill Files
16129 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
16130 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
16131 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
16133 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
16134 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
16135 files into score files.
16137 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
16138 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
16139 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
16140 that isn't a very good idea.
16142 Normal kill files look like this:
16145 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16146 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
16150 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
16151 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
16153 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
16154 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
16157 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
16162 @kindex M-k (Summary)
16163 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
16164 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
16167 @kindex M-K (Summary)
16168 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
16169 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
16172 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
16177 @kindex M-k (Group)
16178 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
16179 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
16182 @kindex M-K (Group)
16183 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
16184 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
16187 Kill file variables:
16190 @item gnus-kill-file-name
16191 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
16192 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
16193 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
16194 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
16195 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
16196 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
16198 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16199 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16200 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
16201 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
16204 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
16205 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
16206 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
16207 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
16208 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
16209 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
16210 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
16211 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
16212 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
16214 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16215 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16216 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
16220 @c The URL below is invalid and the code isn't on gnus.org.
16222 @node Converting Kill Files
16223 @section Converting Kill Files
16225 @cindex converting kill files
16227 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
16228 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
16229 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
16232 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
16233 You can fetch it from
16234 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
16236 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
16237 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
16238 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
16247 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
16248 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
16249 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
16251 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
16252 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
16253 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
16254 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
16255 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
16256 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
16257 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
16258 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
16262 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
16263 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
16264 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
16265 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
16269 @node Using GroupLens
16270 @subsection Using GroupLens
16272 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
16274 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
16275 better bit in town at the moment.
16277 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
16281 @item gnus-use-grouplens
16282 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
16283 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
16284 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
16286 @item grouplens-pseudonym
16287 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
16288 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
16289 with the Better Bit Bureau.
16291 @item grouplens-newsgroups
16292 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
16293 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
16297 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
16298 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
16299 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
16300 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
16301 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
16302 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
16305 @node Rating Articles
16306 @subsection Rating Articles
16308 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
16309 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
16310 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
16311 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
16314 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
16319 @kindex r (GroupLens)
16320 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
16321 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
16324 @kindex k (GroupLens)
16325 @findex grouplens-score-thread
16326 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
16327 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
16328 threads in rec.humor.
16332 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
16333 the score of the article you're reading.
16338 @kindex n (GroupLens)
16339 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
16340 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
16343 @kindex , (GroupLens)
16344 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
16345 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
16349 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
16350 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
16353 @node Displaying Predictions
16354 @subsection Displaying Predictions
16356 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
16357 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
16358 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
16359 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
16360 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
16362 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
16363 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
16364 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
16365 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
16366 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
16367 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
16368 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
16369 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
16370 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
16371 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
16372 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
16373 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
16374 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
16376 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
16377 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
16378 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
16379 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
16381 The following are valid values for that variable.
16384 @item prediction-spot
16385 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
16388 @item confidence-interval
16389 A numeric confidence interval.
16391 @item prediction-bar
16392 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
16394 @item confidence-bar
16395 Numerical confidence.
16397 @item confidence-spot
16398 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
16400 @item prediction-num
16401 Plain-old numeric value.
16403 @item confidence-plus-minus
16404 Prediction +/- confidence.
16409 @node GroupLens Variables
16410 @subsection GroupLens Variables
16414 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
16415 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
16416 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
16417 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
16420 @item grouplens-bbb-host
16421 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
16424 @item grouplens-bbb-port
16425 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
16427 @item grouplens-score-offset
16428 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
16429 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
16432 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
16433 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
16434 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
16439 @node Advanced Scoring
16440 @section Advanced Scoring
16442 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
16443 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
16444 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
16445 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
16446 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
16448 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
16452 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
16453 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
16454 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
16458 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
16459 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
16461 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
16462 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
16463 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
16464 non-@code{nil} value.
16466 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
16467 operator, and various match operators.
16474 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16475 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
16476 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
16481 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16482 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
16483 then this operator will return @code{false}.
16488 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
16489 logical negation of the value of its argument.
16493 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
16494 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
16495 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
16496 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
16497 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
16498 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
16499 the ancestry you want to go.
16501 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
16502 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
16503 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
16504 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
16505 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
16508 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
16509 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
16511 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
16512 when he's talking about Gnus:
16516 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16517 ("subject" "Gnus"))
16523 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
16527 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16534 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
16535 really don't want to read what he's written:
16539 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16540 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
16544 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
16545 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
16546 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
16553 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
16554 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
16555 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
16556 ("body" "white.*socks"))
16560 The possibilities are endless.
16563 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
16564 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
16566 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
16567 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
16568 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
16569 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
16570 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
16571 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
16572 @samp{subject}) first.
16574 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
16575 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
16586 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
16587 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
16593 ("subject" "Gnus")))
16600 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
16601 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
16606 @section Score Decays
16607 @cindex score decays
16610 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
16611 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
16612 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
16613 use them in any sensible way.
16615 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
16616 @findex gnus-decay-score
16617 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
16618 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
16619 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
16620 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
16621 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
16622 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
16623 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
16624 definition of that function:
16627 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
16629 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
16630 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
16633 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
16635 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
16637 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
16640 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
16641 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
16642 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
16643 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
16647 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
16650 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
16653 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
16657 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
16658 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
16659 the new score, which should be an integer.
16661 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
16662 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
16669 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
16670 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
16671 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
16672 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
16673 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
16674 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
16675 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
16676 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
16677 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
16678 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
16679 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
16680 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
16681 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
16682 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
16683 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
16684 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
16685 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
16686 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
16690 @node Process/Prefix
16691 @section Process/Prefix
16692 @cindex process/prefix convention
16694 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
16695 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
16697 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
16698 command to be performed on.
16702 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
16703 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
16704 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
16705 with the current one.
16707 @vindex transient-mark-mode
16708 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
16709 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
16711 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
16712 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
16715 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
16716 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
16718 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
16721 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
16722 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
16723 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
16724 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16726 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
16727 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
16728 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
16729 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
16730 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
16731 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
16732 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
16733 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
16735 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
16736 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
16737 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
16738 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
16739 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
16743 @section Interactive
16744 @cindex interaction
16748 @item gnus-novice-user
16749 @vindex gnus-novice-user
16750 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
16751 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
16752 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
16753 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
16756 @item gnus-expert-user
16757 @vindex gnus-expert-user
16758 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
16759 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
16760 matter how strange.
16762 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
16763 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
16764 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
16765 is @code{t} by default.
16767 @item gnus-interactive-exit
16768 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
16769 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
16774 @node Symbolic Prefixes
16775 @section Symbolic Prefixes
16776 @cindex symbolic prefixes
16778 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
16779 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
16780 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
16781 rule of 900 to the current article.
16783 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
16784 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
16785 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
16786 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
16787 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
16788 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
16789 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
16791 @kindex M-i (Summary)
16792 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
16793 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
16794 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
16795 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
16796 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
16797 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
16798 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
16799 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
16801 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
16802 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
16803 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
16805 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
16809 @node Formatting Variables
16810 @section Formatting Variables
16811 @cindex formatting variables
16813 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
16814 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
16815 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
16816 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
16817 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
16820 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
16821 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
16822 lots of percentages everywhere.
16825 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
16826 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
16827 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
16828 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
16829 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
16832 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
16833 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
16834 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
16835 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
16836 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
16837 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
16838 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
16839 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
16841 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
16842 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
16844 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
16845 @findex gnus-update-format
16846 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
16847 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
16848 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
16849 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
16853 @node Formatting Basics
16854 @subsection Formatting Basics
16856 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
16857 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
16858 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
16860 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
16861 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
16862 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
16863 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
16864 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
16867 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
16868 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
16869 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
16870 less than 4 characters wide.
16873 @node Mode Line Formatting
16874 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
16876 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
16877 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
16878 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
16879 with the following two differences:
16884 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
16887 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
16888 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
16889 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
16890 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
16891 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
16892 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
16893 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
16898 @node Advanced Formatting
16899 @subsection Advanced Formatting
16901 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
16902 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
16903 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
16904 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
16906 These are the valid modifiers:
16911 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
16915 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
16920 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
16923 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
16928 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
16931 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
16934 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
16937 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
16941 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
16942 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
16943 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
16944 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
16945 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
16946 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
16947 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
16949 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
16950 last operation, padding.
16952 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
16953 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
16954 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
16955 @xref{Compilation}.
16958 @node User-Defined Specs
16959 @subsection User-Defined Specs
16961 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
16962 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
16963 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
16964 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
16965 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
16966 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
16967 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
16968 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
16969 should protect against that.
16971 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
16972 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
16973 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
16974 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
16978 @node Formatting Fonts
16979 @subsection Formatting Fonts
16981 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
16982 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
16983 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
16984 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
16987 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
16988 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
16989 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
16990 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
16991 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
16992 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
16994 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
16995 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
16996 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
16997 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
16998 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
16999 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
17000 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
17001 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
17003 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
17006 ;; Create three face types.
17007 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
17008 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
17010 ;; We want the article count to be in
17011 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
17012 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
17013 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
17015 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
17016 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
17018 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
17019 (setq gnus-group-line-format
17020 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
17023 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
17024 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
17026 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
17027 mode-line variables.
17030 @node Windows Configuration
17031 @section Windows Configuration
17032 @cindex windows configuration
17034 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
17036 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
17037 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
17038 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
17039 @code{t} by default.
17041 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
17042 glitches. Use at your own peril.
17044 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
17045 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
17046 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
17049 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
17050 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
17051 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
17055 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
17056 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
17057 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
17058 possible names is listed below.
17060 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
17061 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
17064 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
17068 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
17069 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
17070 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
17071 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
17072 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
17073 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
17074 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
17075 size spec per split.
17077 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
17078 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
17079 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
17080 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
17081 present) gets focus.
17083 Here's a more complicated example:
17086 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
17087 (summary 0.25 point)
17088 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
17092 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
17093 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
17094 occupy, not a percentage.
17096 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
17097 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
17098 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
17099 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
17100 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
17103 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
17106 (article (horizontal 1.0
17111 (summary 0.25 point)
17116 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
17117 @code{horizontal} thingie?
17119 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
17120 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
17121 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
17122 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
17123 the screen is to be given to this strip.
17125 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
17126 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
17127 lines from the splits.
17129 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
17133 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
17134 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
17135 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
17136 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
17137 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
17138 size = number | frame-params
17139 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
17142 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
17143 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
17144 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
17145 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
17147 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
17148 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
17149 @cindex window height
17150 @cindex window width
17151 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
17152 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
17153 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
17154 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
17155 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
17156 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
17158 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
17159 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
17160 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
17161 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
17163 @findex gnus-configure-frame
17164 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
17165 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
17166 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
17167 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
17168 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
17169 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
17170 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
17171 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
17172 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
17173 configuration list.
17176 (gnus-configure-frame
17180 (article 0.3 point))
17188 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
17189 @code{frame} split:
17192 (gnus-configure-frame
17195 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
17197 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
17198 (user-position . t)
17199 (left . -1) (top . 1))
17204 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
17205 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
17206 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
17207 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
17208 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
17209 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
17210 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
17211 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
17213 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
17214 be found in its default value.
17216 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
17217 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
17218 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
17222 (message (horizontal 1.0
17223 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
17225 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
17230 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
17231 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
17232 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
17235 (message (frame 1.0
17236 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
17237 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
17238 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
17239 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
17240 (name . "Message"))
17241 (message 1.0 point))))
17244 @findex gnus-add-configuration
17245 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
17246 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
17247 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
17248 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
17251 (gnus-add-configuration
17252 '(article (vertical 1.0
17254 (summary .25 point)
17258 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
17259 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
17260 Gnus has been loaded.
17262 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
17263 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
17264 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
17265 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
17266 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
17268 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
17269 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
17270 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
17274 @node Faces and Fonts
17275 @section Faces and Fonts
17280 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
17281 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
17282 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
17287 @section Compilation
17288 @cindex compilation
17289 @cindex byte-compilation
17291 @findex gnus-compile
17293 Remember all those line format specification variables?
17294 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
17295 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
17296 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
17297 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
17298 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
17301 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
17302 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
17303 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
17304 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
17305 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
17306 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
17307 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
17311 @section Mode Lines
17314 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
17315 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
17316 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
17317 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
17318 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
17319 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
17320 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
17323 @cindex display-time
17325 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
17326 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
17327 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
17328 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
17329 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
17330 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
17331 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
17332 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
17335 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
17337 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
17338 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
17340 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
17341 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
17342 (length display-time-string)))))
17345 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
17346 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
17347 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
17348 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
17349 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
17352 @node Highlighting and Menus
17353 @section Highlighting and Menus
17355 @cindex highlighting
17358 @vindex gnus-visual
17359 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
17360 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
17361 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
17364 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
17365 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
17368 @item group-highlight
17369 Do highlights in the group buffer.
17370 @item summary-highlight
17371 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
17372 @item article-highlight
17373 Do highlights in the article buffer.
17375 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
17377 Create menus in the group buffer.
17379 Create menus in the summary buffers.
17381 Create menus in the article buffer.
17383 Create menus in the browse buffer.
17385 Create menus in the server buffer.
17387 Create menus in the score buffers.
17389 Create menus in all buffers.
17392 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
17393 buffers, you could say something like:
17396 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
17399 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
17402 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
17405 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
17406 in all Gnus buffers.
17408 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
17411 @item gnus-mouse-face
17412 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
17413 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
17414 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
17418 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
17422 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
17423 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
17424 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
17426 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
17427 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
17428 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
17430 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
17431 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
17432 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
17434 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
17435 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
17436 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
17438 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
17439 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
17440 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
17442 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
17443 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
17444 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
17455 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
17456 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
17457 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
17458 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
17459 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
17463 @vindex gnus-carpal
17464 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
17465 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
17466 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
17471 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17472 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17473 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
17475 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
17476 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
17477 Face used on buttons.
17479 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
17480 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
17481 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
17483 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17484 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17485 Buttons in the group buffer.
17487 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17488 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17489 Buttons in the summary buffer.
17491 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17492 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17493 Buttons in the server buffer.
17495 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17496 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17497 Buttons in the browse buffer.
17500 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
17501 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
17502 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
17510 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
17511 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
17512 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
17513 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
17514 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
17516 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
17517 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
17518 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
17520 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
17521 been idle for thirty minutes:
17524 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
17527 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
17531 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
17534 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
17535 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
17536 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17538 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
17539 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
17540 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
17541 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17543 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
17544 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
17545 @var{idle} minutes.
17547 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
17548 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
17551 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
17552 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
17553 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
17555 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
17556 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
17557 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
17558 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
17560 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
17561 your @file{.gnus} file:
17563 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
17565 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
17568 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
17569 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
17570 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
17571 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
17572 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
17573 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
17574 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
17575 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
17576 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
17577 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
17578 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
17580 @findex gnus-demon-init
17581 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
17582 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
17583 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
17584 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
17585 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
17587 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
17588 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
17589 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
17598 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
17599 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
17601 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
17602 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
17603 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
17604 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
17607 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
17608 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
17609 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
17610 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
17612 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
17613 this will make spam disappear.
17615 There are some variables to customize, of course:
17618 @item gnus-use-nocem
17619 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
17620 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
17623 @item gnus-nocem-groups
17624 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
17625 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
17626 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
17627 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
17629 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
17630 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
17631 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
17632 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
17633 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
17634 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
17635 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
17637 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
17640 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
17641 @cindex Chris Lewis
17642 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
17643 usenet abuse than anybody else.
17646 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
17647 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
17648 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
17650 @item jem@@xpat.com;
17652 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
17655 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
17656 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
17657 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
17660 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
17661 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
17662 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
17663 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
17664 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
17665 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
17666 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
17667 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
17668 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
17669 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
17671 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
17672 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
17675 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
17678 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
17679 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
17682 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
17685 The specs are applied left-to-right.
17688 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
17689 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
17691 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
17692 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
17693 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
17694 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
17696 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
17697 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
17700 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
17702 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
17710 This might be dangerous, though.
17712 @item gnus-nocem-directory
17713 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
17714 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
17715 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
17717 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
17718 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
17719 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
17720 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
17721 might then see old spam.
17725 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
17726 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
17727 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
17728 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
17735 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
17736 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
17737 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
17739 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
17740 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
17741 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
17742 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
17743 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
17744 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
17745 @code{undo} function.
17747 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
17748 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
17749 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
17750 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
17751 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
17752 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
17753 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
17754 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
17755 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
17756 never be totally undoable.
17758 @findex gnus-undo-mode
17759 @vindex gnus-use-undo
17761 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
17762 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
17763 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
17764 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
17769 @section Moderation
17772 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
17773 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
17774 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
17777 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
17781 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
17784 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
17786 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
17791 You split your incoming mail by matching on
17792 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
17793 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
17796 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
17797 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
17800 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
17801 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
17805 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
17808 (setq gnus-moderated-list
17809 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
17813 @node XEmacs Enhancements
17814 @section XEmacs Enhancements
17817 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
17821 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
17822 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
17823 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
17824 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
17837 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
17838 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
17839 over your shoulder as you read news.
17842 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
17843 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
17844 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
17845 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
17846 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
17851 @subsubsection Picon Basics
17853 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
17862 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
17863 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
17864 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
17865 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
17866 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
17867 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
17868 @code{GIF} formats.
17871 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17872 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
17873 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
17874 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
17875 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
17877 @vindex gnus-picons-database
17878 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
17879 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
17880 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
17881 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
17882 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
17885 @node Picon Requirements
17886 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
17888 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
17889 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
17892 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
17893 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
17894 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
17896 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
17897 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
17898 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
17899 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
17900 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
17904 @subsubsection Easy Picons
17906 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
17907 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
17910 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
17911 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
17914 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
17915 containing the Picons databases.
17917 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
17920 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17921 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
17926 @subsubsection Hard Picons
17934 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
17935 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
17936 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
17937 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
17938 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
17943 @item gnus-picons-database
17944 @vindex gnus-picons-database
17945 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
17946 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
17947 subdirectories. This is only useful if
17948 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
17949 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
17951 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17952 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17953 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
17954 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
17955 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
17956 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
17957 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
17959 @item gnus-picons-display-where
17960 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
17961 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
17962 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
17963 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
17964 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
17965 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
17966 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
17968 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
17969 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
17970 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
17975 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
17976 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
17978 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
17979 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
17982 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
17984 @item gnus-article-display-picons
17985 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
17986 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
17987 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
17989 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
17990 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
17991 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
17997 @node Picon Useless Configuration
17998 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
18006 The following variables offer further control over how things are
18007 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
18008 don't need to worry about.
18012 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
18013 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
18014 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
18015 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
18017 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
18018 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
18019 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
18020 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
18022 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
18023 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
18024 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
18025 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
18026 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
18028 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18029 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18030 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
18031 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
18032 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
18033 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
18034 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
18036 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
18037 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
18038 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
18039 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
18041 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
18042 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
18043 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
18044 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
18045 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
18046 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
18047 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
18049 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
18050 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
18051 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
18052 Defaults to @code{nil}.
18054 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
18055 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
18056 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
18057 Defaults to @code{t}.
18059 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
18060 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
18061 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
18062 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
18064 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
18065 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
18066 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
18068 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
18069 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
18070 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
18071 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
18073 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
18074 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the defailt.
18076 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
18077 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
18078 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
18079 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
18080 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
18081 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
18082 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
18083 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
18094 @subsection Smileys
18099 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
18104 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
18105 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
18107 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
18108 @file{.gnus.el} file:
18111 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
18114 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
18115 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
18116 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
18117 text and maps that to file names.
18119 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
18120 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
18121 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
18122 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
18123 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
18124 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
18126 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
18127 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
18129 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
18130 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
18131 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
18133 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
18134 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
18138 @item smiley-data-directory
18139 @vindex smiley-data-directory
18140 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
18142 @item smiley-flesh-color
18143 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
18144 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
18146 @item smiley-features-color
18147 @vindex smiley-features-color
18148 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18150 @item smiley-tongue-color
18151 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
18152 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
18154 @item smiley-circle-color
18155 @vindex smiley-circle-color
18156 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18158 @item smiley-mouse-face
18159 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
18160 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
18166 @subsection Toolbar
18176 @item gnus-use-toolbar
18177 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
18178 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
18179 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
18180 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
18182 @item gnus-group-toolbar
18183 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
18184 The toolbar in the group buffer.
18186 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
18187 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
18188 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
18190 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18191 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18192 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
18198 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
18201 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18202 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18203 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
18204 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
18205 unusual directory structure.
18207 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18208 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18209 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
18210 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
18212 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18213 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18214 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
18215 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
18216 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
18217 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
18219 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18220 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18221 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
18235 @node Fuzzy Matching
18236 @section Fuzzy Matching
18237 @cindex fuzzy matching
18239 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
18240 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
18242 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
18243 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
18244 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
18246 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
18247 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
18248 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
18249 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
18250 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
18253 @node Thwarting Email Spam
18254 @section Thwarting Email Spam
18258 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
18260 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
18261 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
18262 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
18263 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
18264 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
18265 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
18266 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
18267 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
18270 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
18271 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
18272 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
18273 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
18274 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
18275 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
18279 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
18280 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
18282 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
18283 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
18284 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
18285 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
18286 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
18287 part of the mail address.)
18290 (setq message-default-news-headers
18291 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
18294 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
18295 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
18300 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
18301 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
18302 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
18308 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
18309 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
18310 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
18311 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
18313 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
18314 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
18315 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
18316 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
18317 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
18318 your fancy split rule in this way:
18323 (to "larsi" "misc")
18327 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
18328 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
18329 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
18330 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
18331 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
18333 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
18334 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
18335 at @* @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
18336 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
18337 cosmic balance somewhat.
18339 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
18340 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
18341 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
18342 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
18345 @node Various Various
18346 @section Various Various
18352 @item gnus-home-directory
18353 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
18354 defaults to @file{~/}.
18356 @item gnus-directory
18357 @vindex gnus-directory
18358 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
18359 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
18360 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
18362 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
18363 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
18364 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
18365 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
18367 @item gnus-default-directory
18368 @vindex gnus-default-directory
18369 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
18370 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
18371 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
18372 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
18373 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
18374 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
18377 @vindex gnus-verbose
18378 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
18379 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
18380 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
18381 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
18382 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
18384 @item gnus-verbose-backends
18385 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
18386 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
18387 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
18389 @item nnheader-max-head-length
18390 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
18391 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
18392 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
18393 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
18394 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
18395 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
18396 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
18397 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
18398 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
18400 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
18401 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
18402 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
18403 read when doing the operation described above.
18405 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18406 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18408 @cindex invalid characters in file names
18409 @cindex characters in file names
18410 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
18411 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
18412 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
18415 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18419 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
18420 Windows (phooey) systems.
18422 @item gnus-hidden-properties
18423 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
18424 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
18425 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
18426 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
18428 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
18429 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
18430 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
18431 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
18432 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
18434 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
18435 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
18436 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
18438 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
18439 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
18441 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
18442 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
18443 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
18444 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
18447 IMAP users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
18456 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
18457 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
18459 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
18461 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
18467 Not because of victories @*
18470 but for the common sunshine,@*
18472 the largess of the spring.
18476 but for the day's work done@*
18477 as well as I was able;@*
18478 not for a seat upon the dais@*
18479 but at the common table.@*
18484 @chapter Appendices
18487 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
18488 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
18489 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
18490 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
18491 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
18492 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
18493 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
18494 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
18502 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
18503 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
18505 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
18506 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
18507 @file{http://quimby.gnus.org/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
18508 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
18509 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
18511 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
18512 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
18513 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
18514 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
18515 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
18516 appropriate name, don't you think?)
18518 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
18519 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
18520 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
18521 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
18524 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
18525 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
18526 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
18527 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
18528 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
18529 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
18530 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
18531 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
18532 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
18533 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
18537 @node Gnus Versions
18538 @subsection Gnus Versions
18539 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
18541 @cindex September Gnus
18542 @cindex Quassia Gnus
18544 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
18545 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
18546 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
18548 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
18549 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
18551 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
18552 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
18554 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
18555 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
18557 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
18558 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
18561 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
18562 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
18563 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
18564 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
18565 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
18569 @node Other Gnus Versions
18570 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
18573 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
18574 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
18575 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
18576 @sc{mime} capabilities.
18578 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
18579 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
18580 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
18581 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
18588 What's the point of Gnus?
18590 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
18591 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
18592 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
18593 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
18594 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
18595 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
18596 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
18597 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
18598 keep track of millions of people who post?
18600 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
18601 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
18602 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
18603 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
18604 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
18605 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
18606 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
18607 every one of you to explore and invent.
18609 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
18610 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
18613 @node Compatibility
18614 @subsection Compatibility
18616 @cindex compatibility
18617 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
18618 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
18619 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
18624 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
18628 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
18631 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
18634 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
18635 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
18636 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
18637 important variables have their values copied into their global
18638 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
18639 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
18641 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
18642 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
18643 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
18644 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
18645 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
18649 @cindex highlighting
18650 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
18651 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
18652 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
18653 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
18654 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
18655 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
18658 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
18659 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
18660 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
18661 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
18663 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
18664 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
18665 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
18666 to stop doing it the old way.
18668 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
18670 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
18672 @cindex reporting bugs
18674 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
18675 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
18676 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
18678 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
18679 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
18680 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
18681 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
18686 @subsection Conformity
18688 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
18689 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
18696 There are no known breaches of this standard.
18700 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
18702 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
18703 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
18704 We do have some breaches to this one.
18710 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
18711 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
18712 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
18713 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
18714 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
18719 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
18720 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
18721 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
18722 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
18726 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
18727 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
18732 @subsection Emacsen
18738 Gnus should work on :
18746 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
18750 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
18751 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
18754 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
18755 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
18756 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
18760 @node Gnus Development
18761 @subsection Gnus Development
18763 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
18764 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
18765 propose changes and new features, post patches and new backends. This
18766 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
18767 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
18768 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
18769 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
18770 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
18772 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
18773 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
18774 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
18775 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
18776 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
18779 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
18780 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
18781 In particular, @code{nnmail-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
18782 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
18783 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
18785 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
18786 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
18787 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
18788 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
18789 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
18790 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
18791 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
18792 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
18793 usually keep up with these rapid changes, whille people on the newsgroup
18794 can't be assumed to do so.
18799 @subsection Contributors
18800 @cindex contributors
18802 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
18803 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
18804 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
18805 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
18806 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
18807 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
18808 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
18809 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
18810 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
18811 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
18813 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
18819 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
18822 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
18823 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
18824 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
18825 functionality and stuff.
18828 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
18829 well as numerous other things).
18832 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
18835 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
18838 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
18841 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
18842 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
18845 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
18848 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
18849 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
18852 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
18855 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
18858 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
18861 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
18864 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
18865 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
18868 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
18871 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
18874 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
18877 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
18881 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
18884 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
18887 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
18890 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
18891 well as autoconf support.
18895 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
18896 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
18898 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
18907 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
18911 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
18921 Alexei V. Barantsev,
18936 Massimo Campostrini,
18941 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
18942 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
18946 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
18949 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
18955 Michael Welsh Duggan,
18960 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
18964 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
18972 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
18974 Michelangelo Grigni,
18978 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
18980 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
18982 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
18989 François Felix Ingrand,
18990 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
18991 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
18993 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
19004 Peter Skov Knudsen,
19005 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
19007 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
19008 Thor Kristoffersen,
19011 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
19029 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
19030 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
19037 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
19042 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
19046 John McClary Prevost,
19052 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
19057 Christian von Roques,
19060 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
19067 Philippe Schnoebelen,
19069 Randal L. Schwartz,
19083 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
19088 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
19104 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
19109 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
19110 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
19111 (550kB and counting).
19113 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
19116 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
19117 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
19121 @subsection New Features
19122 @cindex new features
19125 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
19126 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
19127 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
19128 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
19131 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
19132 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
19133 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
19137 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
19139 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
19144 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
19145 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
19148 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
19149 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
19152 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
19155 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
19156 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
19157 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
19160 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
19161 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
19162 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
19163 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19166 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
19167 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19170 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
19171 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
19172 (@pxref{The Active File}).
19175 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
19176 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
19179 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
19180 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
19181 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19184 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
19185 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
19186 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
19189 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
19190 the @file{.emacs} file.
19193 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
19194 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19197 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
19198 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
19201 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
19202 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19205 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
19206 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
19209 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
19210 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19213 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
19216 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
19217 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
19220 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
19221 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
19224 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
19225 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
19228 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
19231 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
19232 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19235 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
19239 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
19243 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
19244 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
19247 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
19253 @node September Gnus
19254 @subsubsection September Gnus
19258 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
19262 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
19267 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
19268 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
19272 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
19273 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
19277 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
19281 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
19282 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
19285 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
19289 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
19292 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
19295 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
19298 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
19302 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
19303 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
19306 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
19310 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
19314 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
19318 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
19322 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
19325 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
19326 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
19329 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
19333 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
19334 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
19337 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
19340 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
19341 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
19342 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19345 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
19349 The Gnus cache is much faster.
19352 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
19356 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
19357 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19360 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
19361 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
19364 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
19365 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19368 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
19369 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
19370 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
19373 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
19374 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
19377 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
19380 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19383 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
19386 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
19389 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
19390 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
19393 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
19397 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
19400 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
19405 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
19408 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
19412 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19415 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
19419 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
19422 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
19425 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
19426 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19429 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
19430 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
19434 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
19435 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
19438 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
19442 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
19443 buffer to allow easier treatment.
19446 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
19449 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
19453 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
19457 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
19458 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
19461 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
19465 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
19466 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19469 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
19470 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19473 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
19477 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19480 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
19483 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
19489 @subsubsection Red Gnus
19491 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
19495 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
19502 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
19505 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
19506 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19509 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
19510 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
19514 Article washing status can be displayed in the
19515 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
19518 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
19521 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
19522 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
19525 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
19529 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
19530 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
19534 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
19535 Server Internals}).
19538 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
19542 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
19545 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
19546 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
19549 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
19550 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
19551 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
19554 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
19555 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19558 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
19559 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
19562 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
19566 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
19567 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19570 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
19571 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19574 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
19578 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
19581 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
19585 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
19586 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19589 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
19590 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19593 A new command for reading collections of documents
19594 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
19595 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
19598 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
19602 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
19603 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
19606 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
19607 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
19608 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
19611 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
19612 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
19616 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
19620 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
19624 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
19629 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
19633 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
19637 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
19638 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
19641 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
19647 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
19649 New features in Gnus 5.6:
19654 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
19655 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
19656 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
19659 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
19660 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
19661 group, which is created automatically.
19664 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
19668 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
19671 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
19672 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
19675 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
19679 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
19682 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
19683 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
19686 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
19689 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
19690 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
19693 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
19694 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
19697 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
19698 control over simplification.
19701 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
19704 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
19708 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
19711 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
19714 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
19715 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
19716 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
19719 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
19720 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
19723 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
19727 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
19728 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
19731 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
19732 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
19735 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
19739 A history of where mails have been split is available.
19742 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
19745 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
19746 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
19749 A new function for citing in Message has been
19750 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
19753 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
19756 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
19760 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
19761 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
19764 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
19765 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
19768 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
19771 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
19776 @node Newest Features
19777 @subsection Newest Features
19780 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
19783 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
19785 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
19786 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
19789 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
19794 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
19795 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
19798 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
19801 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
19804 facep is not declared.
19807 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
19808 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
19811 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
19816 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
19817 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
19818 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
19819 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
19820 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
19821 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
19822 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
19827 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
19830 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
19833 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
19835 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
19836 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
19838 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
19840 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
19842 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
19843 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
19845 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
19847 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
19848 be marked as unread.
19850 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
19852 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
19854 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
19855 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
19857 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
19859 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
19861 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
19862 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
19864 topics that contain just groups with ticked
19865 articles aren't displayed.
19867 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
19869 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
19870 make the mail groups killed.
19872 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
19874 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
19875 and articles have to be removed.
19877 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
19880 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
19882 finding short score file names takes forever.
19884 canceling articles in foreign groups.
19886 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
19888 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
19890 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
19892 nnweb doesn't work properly.
19894 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
19896 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
19897 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
19901 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
19903 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
19904 bar and the Gnus bar.
19907 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
19908 `(canonize-message-id id)'
19909 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
19910 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
19911 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
19912 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
19917 nnml .overview directory with splits.
19921 postponed commands.
19923 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
19925 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
19928 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
19929 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
19931 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
19932 inherit copy prompts and save files.
19934 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
19936 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
19937 for backends that support that.
19939 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
19941 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
19942 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
19944 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
19945 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
19947 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
19949 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
19951 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
19953 server mode command: close/open all connections
19955 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
19956 has been changed before using it.
19958 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
19960 hide (sub)threads with low score.
19962 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
19964 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
19966 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
19967 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
19969 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
19970 contain groups that match a regexp.
19972 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
19975 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
19978 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
19979 from subject lines.
19981 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
19983 nntp-ping-before-connect
19985 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
19987 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
19988 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
19990 message annotations.
19992 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
19994 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
19995 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
19997 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
20002 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
20004 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
20006 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
20008 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
20009 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
20011 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
20013 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
20015 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
20016 finds and generate proper active ranges.
20018 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
20019 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
20021 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
20023 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
20025 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
20026 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
20028 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
20030 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
20032 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
20033 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
20036 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
20038 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
20040 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
20041 `C-c C-c' when posting.
20043 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
20046 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
20047 should be marker as expirable.
20049 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
20051 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
20052 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
20054 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
20055 Also consult Date headers.
20057 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
20059 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
20061 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
20062 Message-ID, delete the "original".
20064 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
20065 into a See-Also header.
20067 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
20069 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
20071 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
20072 should be listed as such and not as "K".
20074 generate font names dynamically.
20076 score file mode auto-alist.
20078 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
20079 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
20081 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
20082 absolutely all headers there is.
20084 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
20085 and pipe them to the process.
20087 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
20088 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
20089 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
20091 function for starting to edit a file to put into
20092 the current mail group.
20094 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
20096 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
20097 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
20099 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
20100 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
20102 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
20104 when replying to several process-marked articles,
20105 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
20107 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
20108 groups it has been mailed to.
20110 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
20112 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
20114 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
20116 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
20117 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
20119 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
20120 newlines) should be ignored.
20122 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
20123 groups in subtopics as well.
20125 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
20127 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
20130 add edit and forward secondary marks.
20132 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
20134 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
20136 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
20138 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
20140 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
20142 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
20143 or the formatted article.
20145 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
20147 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
20148 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
20150 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
20152 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
20154 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
20156 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
20157 even unread articles.
20159 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
20161 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
20163 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
20165 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
20167 canceling articles in foreign groups.
20169 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
20172 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
20173 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
20175 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
20176 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
20178 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
20180 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
20182 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
20183 from a particular server? Hm.
20185 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
20186 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
20188 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
20190 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
20191 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
20193 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
20194 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
20196 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
20197 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
20198 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
20201 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
20202 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
20204 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
20206 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
20208 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
20210 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
20213 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
20216 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
20217 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
20219 command to show and edit group scores
20221 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
20224 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
20226 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
20228 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
20229 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
20232 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
20233 that are of that length.
20235 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
20237 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
20239 asynchronous posting under nntp.
20241 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
20243 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
20245 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
20247 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
20248 a score lower than this number.
20250 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
20252 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
20254 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
20255 so that each copy can be edited separately.
20257 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
20259 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
20260 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
20262 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
20265 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
20266 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
20267 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
20268 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
20270 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
20273 command to remove all topic stuff.
20275 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
20276 and splitting the resulting digests.
20278 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
20280 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
20282 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
20283 matches an alist -- before saving.
20285 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
20287 variable to activate each group before entering them
20288 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
20290 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
20291 starting Gnus first if necessary.
20293 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
20294 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
20296 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
20298 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
20299 of several groups at once.
20301 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
20302 matches some regexp(s).
20304 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
20306 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
20308 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
20310 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
20312 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
20314 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
20316 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
20318 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
20319 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
20320 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
20321 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
20323 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
20324 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
20326 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
20328 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
20329 recently cited text.
20331 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
20333 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
20336 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
20337 server and just read the articles in the server
20339 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
20340 value of nnoo variables.
20342 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
20344 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
20345 listed in each group info.
20347 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
20350 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
20351 should only be applied to some groups.
20353 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
20354 mail-copies-to: never.
20356 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
20357 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
20359 the slave dribble files should auto-save to the slave file names.
20361 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
20364 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
20367 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
20369 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
20372 group user-defined meta-parameters.
20376 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
20378 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
20379 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
20380 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
20381 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
20382 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
20384 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
20385 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
20392 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
20393 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
20395 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
20396 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
20398 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
20399 "Return the date the group was last read."
20400 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
20405 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
20406 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
20407 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
20408 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
20412 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
20413 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
20415 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
20418 They could be used like this:
20422 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
20423 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
20424 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
20426 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
20428 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
20431 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
20434 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
20435 affect the summary line format.
20439 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
20441 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
20442 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
20444 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
20447 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
20449 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
20451 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
20453 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
20455 - For other files, just find them normally.
20457 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
20458 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
20461 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
20462 tell him what you are doing.
20465 Currently, I get prompted:
20469 decend into sci.something ?
20473 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
20474 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
20475 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
20476 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
20479 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
20480 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
20481 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
20482 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
20485 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
20486 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
20492 more than n blank lines
20494 more than m identical lines
20495 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
20497 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
20501 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
20502 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
20503 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
20504 "same" subject for threading purposes.
20507 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
20508 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
20509 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
20510 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
20513 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
20516 soup - bowl of soup
20517 score below - dim light bulb
20518 score over - bright light bulb
20521 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
20526 show-list-of-articles-in-group
20527 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20528 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
20529 if (articles-selected)
20530 start-reading-selected-articles;
20531 junk-unread-articles;
20536 else if (key-pressed = '.')
20537 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
20538 select-thread-under-cursor;
20540 select-article-under-cursor;
20544 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20545 if (more-pages-in-article)
20547 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
20554 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
20555 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
20556 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
20559 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
20560 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
20561 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
20562 the wildcard expression).
20565 It would be nice if it also handled
20567 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
20569 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
20574 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
20575 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
20576 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
20577 article versions) variable.
20579 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
20581 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
20582 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
20586 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
20589 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
20590 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
20591 (message-sent-hook).
20593 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
20596 * Enhancements to Gnus:
20600 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
20601 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
20604 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
20605 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
20606 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
20609 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
20610 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
20614 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
20617 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
20621 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
20622 the nnmail duplicate checking.
20625 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
20626 value of the signature file.
20629 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
20630 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
20633 (setq message-tab-alist
20634 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
20635 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
20637 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
20641 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
20644 a command to import a buffer into a group.
20647 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
20650 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
20651 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
20654 a command to process mark all unread articles.
20657 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
20658 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
20659 do more gathering by subject.
20662 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
20663 article numerical order.
20666 (gnus-thread-total-score
20667 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
20671 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
20674 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
20675 in the summary buffer.
20678 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
20679 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
20682 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
20683 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
20684 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
20685 and/or newsgroup name.
20688 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
20691 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
20694 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
20697 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
20698 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
20699 will automatically get the process mark.
20702 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
20703 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
20704 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
20707 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
20711 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
20712 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
20715 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
20716 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
20720 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
20721 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
20724 be able to post via DejaNews.
20727 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
20730 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
20731 allow them to be displayed separately.
20734 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
20735 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
20738 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
20739 articles that match a certain From header.
20742 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
20743 saving living summary buffers.
20746 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
20747 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
20750 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
20751 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
20754 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
20755 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
20758 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
20759 (goto-char (point-min))
20760 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
20761 (replace-match "`" t t))
20762 (goto-char (point-min))
20763 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
20764 (replace-match "'" t t))
20765 (goto-char (point-min))
20766 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
20767 (replace-match "\"" t t))
20768 (goto-char (point-min))
20769 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
20770 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
20775 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
20777 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
20778 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
20779 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
20780 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
20784 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
20787 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
20788 numbers and match on the age of the article.
20792 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
20793 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
20794 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
20796 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
20797 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
20799 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
20800 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
20805 all commands that react to the process mark should push
20806 the current process mark set onto the stack.
20809 gnus-article-hide-pgp
20810 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
20812 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
20814 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
20815 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
20818 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
20819 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
20822 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
20826 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
20827 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
20830 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
20833 nndraft-request-group should tally auto-save files.
20836 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
20839 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
20843 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
20849 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
20852 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
20856 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
20857 X characters in the body.
20860 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
20863 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
20866 format spec to "tab" to a position.
20869 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
20872 command to display all dormant articles.
20875 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
20878 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
20879 to something someone else has said.
20882 Read Netscape discussion groups:
20883 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
20886 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
20887 the displayed version.
20890 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
20894 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
20897 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
20898 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
20899 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
20903 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
20904 in the head or body.
20907 Allow breaking lengthy @sc{nntp} commands.
20910 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
20913 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
20914 in a special, unique buffer.
20917 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
20920 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
20921 is less than a certain number of days old.
20924 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
20927 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
20930 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
20931 file, for instance.
20934 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
20935 in any other dummy thread will make Gnus highlight the
20936 dummy root instead of the first article.
20939 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
20940 topics for displaying.
20943 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
20944 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
20947 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
20950 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
20951 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
20952 summary buffer for each article.
20955 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
20958 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
20962 Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
20965 gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
20969 The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
20972 Bouncing articles should do MIME.
20975 Crossposted articles should "inherit" the % or @ mark from the other
20976 groups it has been crossposted to, or something. (Agent.)
20979 If point is on a group that appears multiple times in topics, and
20980 you press `l', point will move to the first instance of the group.
20983 A spec for the group line format to display the number of
20984 agent-downloaded articles in the group.
20987 Some nntp servers never respond when posting, so there should be a
20988 timeout for all commands.
20991 When stading on a topic line and `t'-ing, point goes to the last line.
20992 It should go somewhere else.
20995 I'm having trouble accessing a newsgroup with a "+" in its name with
20996 Gnus. There is a new newsgroup on msnews.microsoft.com named
20997 "microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time" that I'm trying to
20999 "nntp+msnews.microsoft.com:microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time"
21000 but it gives an error that it cant access the group.
21002 Is the "+" character illegal in newsgroup names? Is there any way in
21003 Gnus to work around this? (gnus 5.6.45 - XEmacs 20.4)
21010 Subject: Answer to your mails 01.01.1999-01.05.1999
21011 --text follows this line--
21012 Sorry I killfiled you...
21014 Under the subject "foo", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
21016 Under the subject "foo1", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
21021 Allow "orphan" scores in the Agent scoring.
21025 - Edit article's summary line.
21027 - Sort lines in buffer by subject
21029 --> the old subject line appears in Summary buffer, not the one that was
21035 Remove list identifiers from the subject in the summary when doing `^'
21039 Have the Agent write out articles, one by one, as it retrieves them,
21040 to avoid having to re-fetch them all if Emacs should crash while
21044 Be able to forward groups of messages as MIME digests.
21047 nnweb should include the "get whole article" article when getting articles.
21050 When I type W W c (gnus-article-hide-citation) in the summary
21051 buffer, the citations are revealed, but the [+] buttons don't turn
21052 into [-] buttons. (If I click on one of the [+] buttons, it does
21053 turn into a [-] button.)
21056 Perhaps there should be a command to "attach" a buffer of comments to
21057 a message? That is, `B WHATEVER', you're popped into a buffer, write
21058 something, end with `C-c C-c', and then the thing you've written gets
21059 to be the child of the message you're commenting.
21062 Handle external-body parts.
21065 When renaming a group name, nnmail-split-history does not get the group
21069 Allow mail splitting on bodies when using advanced mail splitting.
21072 (body "whatever.text")
21076 Be able to run `J u' from summary buffers.
21079 Solve the halting problem.
21088 @section The Manual
21092 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
21093 either @code{texi2dvi}
21095 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
21096 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
21098 to get what you hold in your hands now.
21100 The following conventions have been used:
21105 This is a @samp{string}
21108 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
21111 This is a @file{file}
21114 This is a @code{symbol}
21118 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
21122 (setq flargnoze "yes")
21125 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
21128 (setq flumphel 'yes)
21131 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
21132 ever get them confused.
21136 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
21137 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
21138 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
21139 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
21140 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
21141 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
21142 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
21148 @node On Writing Manuals
21149 @section On Writing Manuals
21151 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
21152 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
21153 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
21154 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
21155 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
21156 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
21159 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
21160 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
21161 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
21164 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
21165 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
21170 @section Terminology
21172 @cindex terminology
21177 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
21178 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
21179 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
21180 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
21181 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
21185 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
21186 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
21187 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
21188 not posting, and replying is not following up.
21192 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
21196 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
21201 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
21202 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
21203 is all done by the backends.
21207 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
21208 default, way of getting news.
21212 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
21213 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
21218 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
21219 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
21223 A message that has been posted as news.
21226 @cindex mail message
21227 A message that has been mailed.
21231 A mail message or news article
21235 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
21240 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
21245 A line from the head of an article.
21249 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
21250 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
21254 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
21255 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
21256 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
21257 normal @sc{head} format.
21261 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
21262 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
21263 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
21264 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
21265 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
21266 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
21268 @item killed groups
21269 @cindex killed groups
21270 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
21271 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
21273 @item zombie groups
21274 @cindex zombie groups
21275 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
21278 @cindex active file
21279 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
21280 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
21281 is rather large, as you might surmise.
21284 @cindex bogus groups
21285 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
21286 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
21287 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
21290 @cindex activating groups
21291 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
21292 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
21293 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
21297 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
21299 @item select method
21300 @cindex select method
21301 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
21304 @item virtual server
21305 @cindex virtual server
21306 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
21307 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
21308 whole is a virtual server.
21312 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
21313 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
21316 @item ephemeral groups
21317 @cindex ephemeral groups
21318 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
21319 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
21320 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
21323 @cindex solid groups
21324 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
21325 group buffer are solid groups.
21327 @item sparse articles
21328 @cindex sparse articles
21329 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
21330 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
21334 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
21335 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
21339 @cindex thread root
21340 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
21341 articles in the thread.
21345 An article that has responses.
21349 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
21353 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
21354 specified by RFC 1153.
21360 @node Customization
21361 @section Customization
21362 @cindex general customization
21364 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
21365 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
21366 for some quite common situations.
21369 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
21370 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
21371 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
21372 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
21376 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
21377 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
21379 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
21380 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
21381 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
21385 @item gnus-read-active-file
21386 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
21387 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
21388 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21389 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
21390 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
21392 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
21393 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
21394 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
21395 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
21399 @node Slow Terminal Connection
21400 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
21402 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
21403 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
21404 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
21408 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
21409 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
21410 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
21411 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
21412 horizontal and vertical recentering.
21414 @item gnus-visible-headers
21415 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
21416 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
21417 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
21418 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
21420 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
21422 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
21423 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
21424 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
21427 @item gnus-use-full-window
21428 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
21429 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
21430 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
21431 want to read them anyway.
21433 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
21434 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
21437 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
21438 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
21439 lines, which might save some time.
21443 @node Little Disk Space
21444 @subsection Little Disk Space
21447 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
21448 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
21452 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
21453 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
21454 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21455 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21458 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
21459 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
21460 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21461 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21464 @item gnus-save-killed-list
21465 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
21466 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
21467 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
21468 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
21474 @subsection Slow Machine
21475 @cindex slow machine
21477 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
21478 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
21480 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21481 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
21483 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
21484 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
21485 summary buffer faster.
21489 @node Troubleshooting
21490 @section Troubleshooting
21491 @cindex troubleshooting
21493 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
21501 Make sure your computer is switched on.
21504 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21505 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21509 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21510 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
21511 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
21512 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21515 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21519 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21520 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21521 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21522 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21523 something like that.
21526 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21529 @cindex reporting bugs
21531 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21533 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21534 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21535 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21536 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21538 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21539 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21540 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21541 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21544 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21545 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21546 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21547 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21548 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21549 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21551 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21552 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21553 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21556 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21557 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21559 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21560 @cindex ding mailing list
21561 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21562 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21566 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21567 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21569 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21570 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21571 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21572 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21575 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21576 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21577 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21578 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21579 and general methods of operation.
21582 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
21583 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
21584 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
21585 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
21586 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
21587 * Group Info:: The group info format.
21588 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
21589 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
21590 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
21594 @node Gnus Utility Functions
21595 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
21596 @cindex Gnus utility functions
21597 @cindex utility functions
21599 @cindex internal variables
21601 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
21602 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
21603 Below is a list of the most common ones.
21607 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
21608 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
21609 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
21611 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
21612 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
21613 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
21615 @item gnus-group-real-name
21616 @findex gnus-group-real-name
21617 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
21620 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
21621 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
21622 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
21623 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
21625 @item gnus-get-info
21626 @findex gnus-get-info
21627 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
21629 @item gnus-group-unread
21630 @findex gnus-group-unread
21631 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
21635 @findex gnus-active
21636 The active entry for @var{group}.
21638 @item gnus-set-active
21639 @findex gnus-set-active
21640 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
21642 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21643 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21644 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
21647 @item gnus-continuum-version
21648 @findex gnus-continuum-version
21649 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
21650 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
21653 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
21654 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
21655 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
21657 @item gnus-news-group-p
21658 @findex gnus-news-group-p
21659 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
21661 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21662 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21663 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
21665 @item gnus-server-to-method
21666 @findex gnus-server-to-method
21667 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
21669 @item gnus-server-equal
21670 @findex gnus-server-equal
21671 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
21673 @item gnus-group-native-p
21674 @findex gnus-group-native-p
21675 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
21677 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
21678 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
21679 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
21681 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
21682 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
21683 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
21685 @item group-group-find-parameter
21686 @findex group-group-find-parameter
21687 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
21688 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
21690 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
21691 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
21692 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
21694 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
21695 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
21696 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
21698 @item gnus-check-backend-function
21699 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
21700 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
21701 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
21704 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
21708 @item gnus-read-method
21709 @findex gnus-read-method
21710 Prompts the user for a select method.
21715 @node Backend Interface
21716 @subsection Backend Interface
21718 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
21719 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
21720 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
21721 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
21722 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
21723 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
21725 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
21726 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
21727 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
21728 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
21729 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
21730 been opened, the function should fail.
21732 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
21733 name. Take this example:
21737 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
21738 (nntp-port-number 4324))
21741 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
21742 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
21744 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
21745 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
21746 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
21748 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
21749 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
21750 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
21752 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
21753 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
21754 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
21755 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
21756 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
21757 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
21760 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
21761 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
21762 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
21763 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
21766 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
21769 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
21772 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
21773 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
21774 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
21775 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
21776 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
21777 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
21781 @node Required Backend Functions
21782 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
21786 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
21788 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
21789 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
21790 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
21791 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
21793 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
21794 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
21795 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
21796 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
21798 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
21799 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
21800 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
21801 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
21802 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
21803 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
21804 number, do maximum fetches.
21806 Here's an example HEAD:
21809 221 1056 Article retrieved.
21810 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
21811 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
21812 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
21813 Subject: Re: Something very droll
21814 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
21815 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
21817 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
21818 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
21819 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
21823 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
21824 these in the data buffer.
21826 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
21830 head = error / valid-head
21831 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
21832 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
21833 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
21834 header = <text> eol
21837 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
21838 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
21842 nov-buffer = *nov-line
21843 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
21844 field = <text except TAB>
21847 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
21851 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
21853 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
21854 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
21856 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
21857 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
21858 server. In fact, it should do so.
21860 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
21861 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
21864 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
21866 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
21867 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
21870 There should be no data returned.
21873 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
21875 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
21876 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
21877 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
21878 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
21880 There should be no data returned.
21883 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
21885 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
21886 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
21887 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
21888 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
21890 There should be no data returned.
21893 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
21895 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
21897 There should be no data returned.
21900 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
21902 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
21903 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
21904 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
21905 it would be nice if that were possible.
21907 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
21908 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
21909 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
21910 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
21911 into its article buffer.
21913 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
21914 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
21915 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
21916 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
21917 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
21918 on successful article retrieval.
21921 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
21923 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
21924 making @var{group} the current group.
21926 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
21929 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
21932 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
21935 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
21936 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
21937 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
21938 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
21939 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
21940 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
21941 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
21942 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
21945 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
21946 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
21947 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
21951 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
21953 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
21954 a no-op on most backends.
21956 There should be no data returned.
21959 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
21961 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
21964 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
21967 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
21968 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
21971 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
21972 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
21975 active-file = *active-line
21976 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
21978 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
21981 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
21982 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
21983 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
21986 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
21988 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
21989 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
21990 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
21991 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
21992 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
21993 clear if the posting could not be completed.
21995 There should be no result data from this function.
22000 @node Optional Backend Functions
22001 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
22005 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
22007 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
22008 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
22009 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
22011 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
22012 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
22013 former is in the same format as the data from
22014 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
22015 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
22018 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
22022 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
22024 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
22025 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
22026 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
22027 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
22028 should return the (altered) group info.
22030 There should be no result data from this function.
22033 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
22035 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
22036 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
22037 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
22038 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
22039 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
22040 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
22041 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
22042 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
22044 There should be no result data from this function.
22047 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
22049 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
22050 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
22051 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
22052 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
22053 propagate the mark information to the server.
22055 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
22058 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
22061 Range is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. Action is
22062 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
22063 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
22064 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
22065 mentioned) marks. Mark is a list of marks; where each mark is a symbol.
22066 Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
22067 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
22068 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
22069 not limit itself to these.
22071 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
22072 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
22073 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
22074 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
22076 An example action list:
22079 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
22080 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
22081 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
22084 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
22085 mark on (currently not used for anything).
22087 There should be no result data from this function.
22089 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
22091 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
22092 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
22093 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
22094 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
22095 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
22097 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
22098 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
22099 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
22102 There should be no result data from this function.
22105 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
22107 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
22108 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
22109 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
22110 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
22111 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
22112 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
22113 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
22115 There should be no result data from this function.
22118 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
22120 The result data from this function should be a description of
22124 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
22126 description = <text>
22129 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
22131 The result data from this function should be the description of all
22132 groups available on the server.
22135 description-buffer = *description-line
22139 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
22141 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
22142 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
22143 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
22146 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22148 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
22150 There should be no return data.
22153 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
22155 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
22156 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
22157 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
22158 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
22159 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
22162 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
22165 There should be no result data returned.
22168 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
22171 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
22172 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
22174 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
22175 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
22176 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
22177 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
22178 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
22179 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
22181 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
22182 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
22185 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22186 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22188 There should be no data returned.
22191 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
22193 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
22194 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
22195 this function in short order.
22197 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22198 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22200 There should be no data returned.
22203 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
22205 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
22206 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
22208 There should be no data returned.
22211 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
22213 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
22214 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
22215 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
22217 There should be no data returned.
22220 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
22222 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
22223 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
22225 There should be no data returned.
22230 @node Error Messaging
22231 @subsubsection Error Messaging
22233 @findex nnheader-report
22234 @findex nnheader-get-report
22235 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
22236 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
22237 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
22238 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
22239 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
22240 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
22243 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
22245 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
22248 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
22249 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
22250 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
22251 takes one argument---the server symbol.
22253 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
22254 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
22255 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
22258 @node Writing New Backends
22259 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
22261 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
22262 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
22263 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
22264 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
22265 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
22268 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
22269 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
22270 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
22272 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
22273 package called @code{nnoo}.
22275 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
22276 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
22282 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
22283 parameters. For instance:
22286 (nnoo-declare nndir
22290 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
22291 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
22294 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
22295 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
22296 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
22298 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
22299 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
22300 a function in those backends.
22303 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22304 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22305 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22308 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
22309 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
22310 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
22312 @item nnoo-define-basics
22313 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
22317 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22321 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
22322 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
22323 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
22325 @item nnoo-map-functions
22326 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
22327 functions from the parent backends.
22330 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22331 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22332 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
22335 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
22336 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
22337 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
22338 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
22341 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
22342 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
22343 haven't already been defined.
22349 nnmh-request-newgroups)
22353 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
22354 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
22355 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
22360 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
22363 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
22364 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22368 (require 'nnheader)
22372 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
22374 (nnoo-declare nndir
22377 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22378 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22379 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22381 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
22382 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
22385 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
22386 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
22387 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
22389 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
22390 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
22392 ;;; Interface functions.
22394 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22396 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
22397 (setq nndir-directory
22398 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
22400 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
22401 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
22402 (push `(nndir-current-group
22403 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22405 (push `(nndir-top-directory
22406 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22408 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
22410 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22411 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22412 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22413 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
22414 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
22418 nnmh-status-message
22420 nnmh-request-newgroups))
22426 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22427 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22429 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
22430 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
22431 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
22432 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
22434 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
22435 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
22440 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
22443 The abilities can be:
22447 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
22449 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
22451 This backend supports both mail and news.
22453 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
22456 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
22457 articles and groups.
22459 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
22460 true for almost all backends.
22461 @item prompt-address
22462 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
22463 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
22464 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
22468 @node Mail-like Backends
22469 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
22471 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
22472 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
22473 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
22474 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
22477 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
22478 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
22479 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
22482 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
22483 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
22486 This function takes four parameters.
22490 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
22493 @item exit-function
22494 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
22496 @item temp-directory
22497 Where the temporary files should be stored.
22500 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
22501 performed for one group only.
22504 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
22505 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22506 find the article number assigned to this article.
22508 The function also uses the following variables:
22509 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22510 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
22511 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22512 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22516 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22517 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22521 @node Score File Syntax
22522 @subsection Score File Syntax
22524 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22525 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22526 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22528 Here's a typical score file:
22532 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22539 BNF definition of a score file:
22542 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22543 element = rule / atom
22544 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22545 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
22546 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
22547 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
22549 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
22550 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
22551 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
22552 date-header = "date"
22553 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22554 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22555 score = "nil" / <integer>
22556 date = "nil" / <natural number>
22557 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
22558 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
22559 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
22560 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
22561 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22562 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22563 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
22564 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22565 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
22566 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
22567 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
22568 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
22569 exclude-files / read-only / touched
22570 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
22571 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
22572 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
22573 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
22574 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
22575 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
22576 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
22577 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
22578 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
22579 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
22580 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
22581 eval = "eval" space <form>
22582 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
22585 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
22588 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
22589 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
22590 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
22591 one looong line, then that's ok.
22593 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
22594 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22598 @subsection Headers
22600 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
22601 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
22602 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
22603 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
22605 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
22606 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
22607 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
22608 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
22609 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
22610 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
22611 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
22613 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
22614 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
22615 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
22616 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
22617 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
22619 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
22620 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
22626 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
22627 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
22629 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
22630 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
22631 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
22632 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
22634 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
22638 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
22641 is transformed into
22644 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
22647 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
22648 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
22651 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
22654 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
22655 is slightly tricky:
22658 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
22664 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
22667 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
22673 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
22680 and is equal to the previous range.
22682 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
22683 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
22684 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
22688 range = simple-range / normal-range
22689 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
22690 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
22691 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
22692 number *[ " " contents ]
22695 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
22696 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
22697 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
22698 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
22699 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
22704 @subsection Group Info
22706 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
22707 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
22708 describes the group.
22710 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
22711 second is a more complex one:
22714 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
22716 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
22717 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
22719 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
22722 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
22723 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
22724 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
22725 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
22726 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
22727 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
22728 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
22729 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
22730 this section is about.
22732 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
22733 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
22734 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
22736 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
22739 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
22740 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
22741 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22742 group = quote <string> quote
22743 ralevel = rank / level
22744 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22745 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
22746 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22748 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
22749 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
22750 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
22751 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
22754 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
22755 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
22758 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
22759 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
22762 @item gnus-info-group
22763 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
22764 @findex gnus-info-group
22765 @findex gnus-info-set-group
22766 Get/set the group name.
22768 @item gnus-info-rank
22769 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
22770 @findex gnus-info-rank
22771 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
22772 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
22774 @item gnus-info-level
22775 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
22776 @findex gnus-info-level
22777 @findex gnus-info-set-level
22778 Get/set the group level.
22780 @item gnus-info-score
22781 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
22782 @findex gnus-info-score
22783 @findex gnus-info-set-score
22784 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
22786 @item gnus-info-read
22787 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
22788 @findex gnus-info-read
22789 @findex gnus-info-set-read
22790 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
22792 @item gnus-info-marks
22793 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
22794 @findex gnus-info-marks
22795 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
22796 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
22798 @item gnus-info-method
22799 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
22800 @findex gnus-info-method
22801 @findex gnus-info-set-method
22802 Get/set the group select method.
22804 @item gnus-info-params
22805 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
22806 @findex gnus-info-params
22807 @findex gnus-info-set-params
22808 Get/set the group parameters.
22811 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
22812 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
22814 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
22815 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
22816 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
22817 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
22820 @node Extended Interactive
22821 @subsection Extended Interactive
22822 @cindex interactive
22823 @findex gnus-interactive
22825 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
22826 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
22827 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
22830 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
22831 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
22836 The best thing to do would have been to implement
22837 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
22838 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
22839 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
22840 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
22841 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
22842 @code{interactive}.
22844 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
22849 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
22850 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
22854 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
22855 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
22856 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
22859 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
22863 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
22867 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
22873 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
22874 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
22878 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
22879 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
22880 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
22882 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
22883 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
22884 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
22885 Gnus, that's very useful.
22887 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
22888 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
22889 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
22890 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
22891 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
22892 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
22893 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
22894 following function:
22897 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
22901 (,function ,@@args))
22905 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
22906 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
22907 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
22910 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
22911 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
22912 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
22914 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
22915 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
22916 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
22919 @node Various File Formats
22920 @subsection Various File Formats
22923 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
22924 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
22928 @node Active File Format
22929 @subsubsection Active File Format
22931 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
22932 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
22935 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
22938 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
22939 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
22940 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
22941 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
22942 no.general 1000 900 y
22945 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
22948 active = *group-line
22949 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
22950 group = <non-white-space string>
22952 high-number = <non-negative integer>
22953 low-number = <positive integer>
22954 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
22957 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
22958 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
22961 @node Newsgroups File Format
22962 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
22964 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
22965 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
22966 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
22969 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
22970 Here's the definition:
22974 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
22975 group = <non-white-space string>
22977 description = <string>
22982 @node Emacs for Heathens
22983 @section Emacs for Heathens
22985 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
22986 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
22987 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
22988 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
22989 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
22990 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
22991 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
22995 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
22996 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
23001 @subsection Keystrokes
23005 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
23008 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
23011 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
23012 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
23013 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
23014 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
23015 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
23016 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
23018 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
23019 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
23020 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
23021 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
23022 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
23023 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
23024 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
23026 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
23027 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
23028 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
23029 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
23030 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
23031 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
23032 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
23034 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
23035 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
23036 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
23037 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
23038 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
23044 @subsection Emacs Lisp
23046 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
23047 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
23048 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
23049 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
23051 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
23052 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
23053 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
23054 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
23055 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
23056 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
23057 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
23060 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
23061 write the following:
23064 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
23067 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
23068 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
23069 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
23072 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
23073 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
23074 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
23075 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
23076 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
23078 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
23079 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
23080 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
23084 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
23088 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
23091 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
23092 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
23095 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
23098 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
23099 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
23102 @include gnus-faq.texi